Dassie Rat: Petromuridae

Dassie rats live in areas with a lot of rocks on hills or mountains. This environment allows them to find small areas between or under the rocks to crawl into in case of an attack by a predator. When examining living areas, dassie rats will Dassie rats can make their bodies almost flat, and squeeze into small crevices or cracks to escape predators. (Nigel Dennis/African Imagery.com. Reproduced by permission.) choose an area with good shelter over an area with good plant life. The rocky shelters that they choose include lookout areas and sunbathing platforms. They make sure to choose shelters that have protecting rocks over the sunbathing platforms as a defense against birds of prey that may try to attack while they are sunbathing. In addition, feeding areas are near their shelters, so they do not have to travel long distances.