14 DAY TRIAL // Most cats are chicken enough not to face regular rats. But this rat would fight from equal to equal with a cat. An expedition made by an American-Indonesian team in a remote jungle in western New Guinea, in the area Papua province of Indonesia, has found a giant rat and a tiny possum that seem to be new undescribed species, pointing to the stunning biodiversity of the area. Further research will clear if the animals are newfound species.
"The animals were found during a June expedition in the Foja-mountain rain forest in eastern Papua province", stated U.S.-based Conservation International (CI), organizer of the expedition together with the Indonesian Institute of Science.
"The giant rat is about five times the size of a typical city rat. With no fear of humans, it apparently came into the camp several times during the trip", said Kristofer Helgen, a scientist with the Smithsonian Institution in Washington.
Unlike other large rodents, like let's say beavers or South American capybara (world's largest rodent, which can reach up to 65 kg (140 lbs) in weight), this species is a real rat, closely related to house rats. Only that it can be 3-pound (1.4-kg) heavy...
The new possum is "one of the worlds smallest marsupials".
A 2006 expedition to the same area, named the "Lost World" by Conservation International because its lack of human population, encountered a variety of new species of birds and butterflies.
Papua preserves one of the world's largest areas of rain forest, but like in whole Indonesia, illegal logging is rampant. "The Foja area is not under immediate threat, largely because it is so remote. It's comforting to know that there is a place on Earth so isolated that it remains the absolute realm of wild nature. We were pleased to see that this little piece of Eden remains as pristine and enchanting as it was when we first visited", said expedition leader Bruce Beehler.
