Galapagos Woolly-Tailed Rat

Galapagos woolly-tailed rats are native Galapagos small rodents that are related to the rice rats.

Decription
Galapagos woolly-tailed rats are similar to most rice rat species, but with a slender and more mongoose-like body shape and a more hairy tail to cope with the sharp bushes and shrubs of the Galapagos Islands. The Galapagos woolly-tailed rats also have long hind legs to hop in case of danger. The Galapagos woolly-tailed rats are also omnivorous so they feed on any edible items.

Distribution
The Galapagos woolly-tailed rats are native to most of the Galapagos Islands, but have been introduced accidentally to California, Nevada, Arizona, Oregon, Florida, and Texas, where they are flourishing despite competition with other nonnative rodents such as brown rats, black rats, house mice, and among others.

Behavior
Galapagos woolly-tailed rats are very brave, more so than the brown rats, due to being slightly larger than a brown rat and being slightly smarter than a brown rat, so the Galapagos woolly-tailed rats are mainly active during the day, not just during the night, unlike brown rats. They breed just as fast as brown rast and just as often, to ensure their survival in the changing world caused by humans.

Conservation Status
Galapagos woolly-tailed rats have been listed as least concern as they tolerate extremely well against invasive predators such as cats. They also tolerate well with habitat loss and flourish well in human settlements alongside brown rats, black rats, and house mice. Because of this, they flourish in both native Galapagos Island and nonnative mainland North America.