Rare Sighting: Enormous Rat Cracks Coconuts in Solomon Islands

The elusive Vangunu giant rat, one of the world's rarest rodents, has been photographed for the first time in the Solomon Islands. The species, described as "coconut-cracking" due to its ability to chew through coconuts, is at least twice the size of a common rat. Logging has critically endangered the species, making the new photos a promising development for its conservation. The discovery of the Vangunu giant rat is the first new rodent species described from the Solomon Islands in over 80 years.