Lophiomys – Maned rat

Instead of looking like a small, quick mouse, it’s closer in size to a small cat, with a long, shaggy coat and a chunky body. Its fur is usually a mix of black, brown, and gray, with a bold, pale stripe running along its back from the neck to the tail. Hidden inside that stripe is its “mane,” a special patch of hair that can puff up when the animal is alarmed.

Its head is broad and almost dog-like, with a blunt nose, small, rounded ears, and big dark eyes that make it look surprisingly gentle and sleepy. If you saw one for the first time, you might think it was some kind of mix between a porcupine, a skunk, and a fluffy puppy rather than a rat.

The most famous—and wildest—thing about the maned rat is its poison trick. This is one of the only mammals known to “borrow” a powerful poison from a plant and use it as a weapon. In the wild, the maned rat chews the bark of a special African tree whose sap is so toxic that people have used it on arrow tips. The rat chews the bark, mixes it with saliva, then carefully licks and rubs this poisonous spit onto the sponge-like hairs hidden in its mane stripe. Those hairs are hollow and rough, perfect for soaking up and holding the poison. When the fur dries, that pale stripe becomes a toxic zone.

If a predator tries to bite the maned rat along its back, it gets a mouthful of poisonous hairs, which can make it very sick—or even kill it. Because of this, the maned rat doesn’t always run away when threatened. Instead, it may turn sideways or backward, fluff up its mane, and boldly present its deadly stripe, like a living “do not touch” sign.