Cane Rats: Thryonomyidae - Physical Characteristics, Behavior And Reproduction, Cane Rats And People, Greater Cane Rat (thryonomys Swinderianus): Species Account - GEOGRAPHIC RA\NGE, HABITAT, DIET, CONSERVATION STATUS
africa lesser pellets plant
Both species are native to Africa, where they occupy habitats south of the Sahara Desert. They may be found everywhere in west, central, and southern Africa all the way down to the eastern Cape in South Africa.
Although they look similar, the greater and lesser cane rats prefer different environments. The greater species is semi-aquatic and searches out marshes and reed beds near rivers and streams, while the lesser species looks for dry ground in moist savannas, or grasslands. Both animals are excellent swimmers and require tall grasses for hiding and foraging purposes.
Cane rats are herbivores, plant eaters, and eat a wide variety of grasses and other plant matter, as well as fruits, nuts, bark, and cultivated crops. Cane rats ferment their food in a special organ called the cecum (SEE-kum) to help digest it. They produce two kinds of feces: hard and soft pellets. Both are excreted, but the animals eat the soft pellets to extract any nutrients remaining in them.
Abundant in all areas with suitable habitat, neither the lesser nor the greater cane rat is threatened.
Additional Topics
The two species in the cane rat family, the greater cane rat and the lesser cane rat, are very similar in appearance, except for the fact that one is larger and heavier than the other. The second-largest rodents in their native continent of Africa after the South African porcupine, the cane rats range in length from 1.3 to 2.6 feet (40.9 to 79.3 centimeters) and in weight from 3.1 to 14.3 pounds (…
Cane rats earned their African nickname of "grass cutter" because of their method of eating: after using their powerful incisors to cut grasses at their base, the animals take the bunch of grass in their forefeet, sit upright on their haunches, and begin to feed the grass into their mouths slowly, cutting it up into small bits. When eating and when relaxed, they make soft grunting no…
Physical characteristics: The larger of the two cane rat species, the (male) greater cane rat ranges in length from 26.1 to 30.9 inches (67.0 to 79.2 centimeters) and in weight from 11 to 14.3 pounds (5 to 6.5 kilograms), although there are reports of these animals weighing as much as 19.8 pounds (9 kilograms). Females are generally smaller. Greater cane rats have powerful, stocky bodies, massive …
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User Comments
over 1 year ago
i would like to know what researches have been done on the biochemical influence of the faeces of grasscutters to people who eat them. i will be glad if u give me a reply