A small, slim rat with a pointed nose, big, round ears, and a long, fine tail that’s about as long as its body. Its fur is usually brown to grey-brown on top with a lighter belly, so it blends in well with dry leaves and tree bark. Compared with the big city rats most people think of, the Polynesian rat is more “pocket-sized”. It is active mostly at night, slipping through grass, scrambling over rocks, and racing up trees with ease. By day, it rests in burrows, grass nests, tree hollows, or any other snug hiding place it can find, often close to where people live, farm, or store food.
What makes this rat especially interesting is how closely its story is tied to humans. It originally came from Southeast Asia, but it spread across the Pacific as a stowaway in voyaging canoes, travelling with early settlers to places like New Zealand, Hawaii, and Easter Island. Wherever people went, carrying crops and supplies, the rats came too. Because they can’t swim long distances, finding Polynesian rat bones in old sites helps scientists trace ancient sea routes and understand when different islands were first settled.
The Polynesian rat is an adventurous eater with a very mixed menu. It happily chews seeds, fruits, roots, leaves and bark, but will also hunt insects, worms, spiders, lizards and, when it can, bird eggs and chicks. One of its quirkiest habits is the use of “husking stations.” Instead of eating where it finds food, it often carries seeds or nuts to a favourite safe spot, such as under tree roots, in a rock crack or under palm fronds. There it calmly peels, shells or nibbles its prize without worrying too much about rain or rivals. Over time, these little feeding sites build up piles of neatly opened seeds, like a tiny picnic corner that gives away the rat’s secret life.
Distribution
American Samoa
Bangladesh
Brunei
Cambodia
Christmas Island
Cocos Is. (Keeling)
Cook Islands
East Timor
Fiji
French Polynesia
Guam
Indonesia
Kiribati
Laos
Malaysia
Marshall Islands
Micronesia
Myanmar
Nauru
New Caledonia
New Zealand
Niue
Norfolk Island
Nort. Mariana Is.
Palau
Papua New Guinea
Philippines
Samoa
Singapore
Solomon Islands
Taiwan
Thailand
Tokelau
Tonga
Tuvalu
US Minor Is.
United States
Vanuatu
Vietnam
Wallis & FutunaAnything we've missed?
Help us improve this page by suggesting edits. Glory never dies!
Suggest an editGet to know me
Terrestrial / Aquatic
Altricial / Precocial
Polygamous / Monogamous
Dimorphic (size) / Monomorphic
Active: Diurnal / Nocturnal
Social behavior: Solitary / Pack / Herd
Diet: Carnivore / Herbivore / Omnivore / Piscivorous / Insectivore
Migratory: Yes / No
Domesticated: Yes / No
Dangerous: Yes / No
