New publication on giant poisonous rats!

Our latest research on giant poisonous African rats is out in the Journal of Mammalogy. These rarely seen and poorly studied rodents are the only mammals known to sequester plant toxins. The African crested rat looks adorable, but its fur is packed with toxins sequestered from the same plant used to make traditional arrow poisons. The new research, led by Sara Weinstein and collaborators Katrina Nyawira Malanga (Oxford Brooks University), Bernard Agwanda (National Museums of Kenya), Jesús E Maldonado (Smithsonian Institution), and M Denise Dearing shows that these enigmatic small mammals also have complex social lives. Need a break from 2020 doom scrolling? Check out some of our favorite videos featuring poisonous rodents of usual size here. Find the paper here.

The rat in question, looking up to no good!

Post-doc Dr. Sara Weinstein and field assistant Katrina Nyawira Malanga setting a tomahawk trap in the brush.