Hoary Bamboo Rat

The hoary bamboo rat is a robust rodent with a head-and-body length of 24–34.5cm, a tail of 9–13cm and a weight of 1,500–2,500g. The fur on the upper parts is greyish-brown or dark brown with a grizzled look from white-tipped guard hairs; the underparts are paler and the tail scantily haired. The upper incisors slope inwards and the broad molars are orange. It occurs from low ground to 4,000m (Wikipedia, general species account).

It is nocturnal and lives alone in a simple burrow with a single entrance marked by a mound, an escape exit, a nest chamber and a latrine chamber. The nest is lined with dried grasses and shreds of bamboo. At night it forages for plant material, mostly the stems and roots of bamboos and beard grass; a male moves into a female's burrow at these times. Its range includes southern China (Wikipedia, general species account).