Mysterious 'Wooly' Rat That Vanished Into the Mountains in 1989 Revealed Itself for the First Time Since

Some creatures are so elusive that even after knowing about them, scientists face difficulty in capturing them. There could be a variety of reasons behind it, from their behavioral patterns to remote habitats. One such creature is Mallomys istapantap, which was recently scientifically recorded for the first time in the mountain rainforests of Papua New Guinea, according to Popular Mechanics. Findings regarding this observation have been published in the journal Mammalia.

M. istapantap, also known as the Subalpine Woolly Rat of New Guinea, has the honor of being the largest woolly rat in the country. According to experts, the creature can reach a size of 85 centimeters (or 33 inches), which is the length of a house cat. Researchers believe that with this size, it stands shoulder to shoulder with the largest rodents in the world, like pacarenas and capybaras. Despite its massiveness, the specimen is the least studied woolly rat in the country. Before zoologist František Vejmělka, nobody had managed to even document this creature. 

The creature was first described in 1989, according to Smithsonian Magazine.  The creatures are nocturnal, and this fact, along with the remote habitat they live in, makes their observation difficult. All that is known about this species is through the few available museum specimens. Vejmělka is the first individual to have photographed the 'specimen' and publicized it to the world. The pursuit was not easy for the zoologist as he had to spend six months in the highlands of Papua New Guinea, searching for the creature. The expert ended up documenting 61 species of rodents and marsupials on Mount Wilhelm, with his most notable observation being of the Subalpine Woolly Rat. For his objective, the man took the help of local Indigenous people.

Along with photos and videos, Vejmělka also got hold of a few individuals. This allowed him to take the first-ever biometric measurements of this creature. All the subjects that he took measurements of were males, so the gathered data will be associated with that particular gender. The biggest rodent found in all of Australia and Oceania, exhibited three-inch-long paws, shaggy fur covering almost all its body, and sharp teeth. 

The rat was spotted 3,700 to 3,200 meters (12,139-10,498 feet) above sea level, according to IFL Science. For capturing the subjects on camera, the expert had to take many night trips. In total, Vejmělka recorded the biometric measurements of five adult males, each of which were in the weight range of 2 to 3.3 pounds. He also analyzed the stomach content of these specimens, which revealed a diet dominated by fern species. This confirmed that these creatures were herbivorous. Vejmělka also noted a feature on the Subalpine Woolly Rat, which had not been mentioned in any scientific analysis. The expert observed a reddish brown color on the chests of both the male and female creature, which he detected in the mountain. 

Other important insights found in the observations include females being larger than males, and specimens having longer tails in lower elevations and shorter tails in higher elevations, according to Popular Science. The locals who helped Vejmělka find the creature, knew the areas where they were likely to haunt. This indicated to the expert that the Subalpine Woolly Rat is possibly glimpsed regularly by the locals amongst the leaves and roots. They also shared with the experts that the creature fed on ferns and lived in mossy forests or grasslands near the mountains. Though they mostly lived on land, they knew how to climb trees, and did so mostly to escape predators, according to them. All this showcased to the researcher how important it is to have a local perspective in such explorations.