Rare animal – a moonrat – found in Krabi

A small creature that looks like a mouse, with a nose and mouth shaped like a pig, has been found in Krabi. It is believed to be a moonrat.

Krabi Defense Volunteer Officer, 53 year old Pornchai Sudrak, who found the animal, explains that he was jogging near his house in the evening and heard his dog barking so he went to check.

“The dog was chasing that small creature that has black and white hair. I went to stop the dog from chasing it and captured it in a cage because it looked exhausted. I called my neighbors to have a look as we had never seen anything like it before.”

The moonrat is 30 cm long and weigh about 1 kilogram. It has been released back to the wild in the forest behind the community.

The Chief of Khao Prabangkram Wildlife Sanctuary, Wutthipong Chusangrat, says that the moonrat is a protected animal which inhabits the south of Thailand and Malay Peninsula. When is gets scared, it usually releases a chemical that smells similar to ammonia.

“We have never seen moonrat in this Wildlife Sanctuary before. This is the first time.”