Bandicoot Rat
Bandicota bengalensis
Appearance
- Large rat-like rodent, up to 40 cm including tail
- Dorsally dark brown fur
- Light to dark grey fur ventrally
- Head body length about 25cm
- Long and scaly tail uniformly dark and shorter than head-body length
- Adults of both sexes have a smell which is similar to pigs
- Blunt muzzle
- When cornered, the bandicoot rat erects is bristles and spits like a cat.
Lifecycle
- Bandicoot rats have a rapid rate of reproduction, the usual age of first breeding is at 3 months, the average number of litter being 7, breeding season all year round with a peak in spring.
- Bandicoot rats are quite aggressive even against individuals of the same species and dig extensive burrows. Each burrow will only be inhabited by one bandicoot rat.
Habits
- Bandicoot rats are often living in scrub lands and jungles, but are also common in villages and towns
- They are considered as one of the most damaging agricultural pests, as they hoard a lot of grains in their burrows.
- Originally grain feeders, they often change their diet according to availability and can also change their diet totally to animal matter
- Bandicoot rates have been known to attack Poultry and are seen as a threat to infants as a group of them can easily attack and devour a child.