Rats in our forests

WHAT seemed to be an extra large rat appeared in a corner at the entrance of the cave and proceeded to feed on seeds scattered on the ground. Despite our talk and movements, the rat continued boldly.

When all was quiet, he fixed large eyes on us intermittently, perhaps our silence more of a threat than our communication with each other.

This rodent was well fed, foraging as it was on the seeds and fruits dropped from mammalian residents of the cave. This was his territory, and a flourishing one at that.

The Trinidad spiny pocket mouse ( Heteromys anomalus) makes its home in our part of the world. It is also called the pouched rat because it stores its food in its cheeks for later use. It is a nocturnal species.

We were fortunate to encounter this fellow just after noon at the front of a large cave in the heights of Cumaca.

This was a beauty of a rodent. Rich brown hues of fur covered its body, with a line of darker hairs running along the top. Its ears were well-rounded, unlike those of other forest rats, such as the pilori we were accustomed to seeing.

Its body seemed to surpass the 275mm recorded as the optimum size of this species. The tail also seemed longer than that of others we had encountered over the years.

This rat remained at his feeding post even after we had moved away into the cave. From the inside of the cave, looking out, we could still see its head bobbing up and down in silhouette.

Night users of our forests like huntsmen are accustomed to running into what bushmen know as pilori. This is a shy, nocturnal forest rat that over runs the bush. They scamper away on your approach.

Huntsmen regard them as nuisances

Spiny rat ( Proechimys semispinosus), or Tome's spiny rat, is so called because of the bristling line of fur running along the top of its back. Its fur also comprises varying browns. However, it differs from the pouched rat in the shape of its ears. While the former is rounded, this one is narrow and erect. It, too, has large eyes.

Some of the pilori this writer has seen had no tail, and huntsmen will tell you the pilori has no tail, referring to those they had encountered in the bush, large body reaching 280mm but lacking a tail.

In the forest, our spiny pocket mouse as well as our spiny rat are regarded as important players in their roles as seed predators and dispersers. This is an invaluable contribution to the well-being of our forests.

Huntsmen, however, regard them as nuisances because when a huntsman is on his scaffold, these rats come out in their numbers and hinder them from getting the real game. One huntsman does not mind their presence at all. 'We have plenty rats outside in the night, in the trees, in the tree roots and all over. We take them down because they big and when you cook that, is plenty sweet wild meat you eating. 'You have to clean it, season it, and cook it however you want. It taste like you eating a piece of lappe.

'When wild animal scarce, you sure to get pilori, so let them come. Good for the forest, good for me, too!'

On the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) list of threatened species, these two rodents are of least concern.

LARGE RODENT: The Trinidad spiny pocket mouse, or pouched rat, found in a cave in the heights of Cumaca.