The Pacarana is a Huge, Super Cute Rodent (and Also That Thing You Thought Was a Showering Rat)

By Petr Navovy | Miscellaneous | February 2, 2018 |

By Petr Navovy | Miscellaneous | February 2, 2018 |

We love animals here at Pajiba. Whether it’s Hunstman Spiders, Coconut Crabs, or…uh, Ape-Human hybrids, nature is just awesome at throwing up stuff that makes you do a double take, unsure if you’re being pranked, and we just cannot get enough of it.

Our latest discovery? The pacarana, a rodent native to South America.

Here is one in Peru:

The pacarana is a rare, nocturnal (or possibly diurnal) creature, slow-moving and found in the tropical rainforests of the western Amazon River basin, as well as the foothills of the Andes. A member of Hystricognathi, an infraorder of the rodent order, the pacarana is large for a rodent (weighing up to 15kg/33lb and measuring up to 79cm/31in) and often travels in family groups of four or five. Subsisting mostly on plant material, it is the only surviving member of the Dinomyidae family, which once counted among its ranks 22 now-extinct genera, including a number of gigantic rodents that roamed South America millions of years ago and that reached sizes comparable to that of hippos.

The latest scientific research on the pacarana has also been able to conclude that it is cute as fuck.

Oh, and also: That showering rat video that went viral a few days ago? Yeah, totally not a rat:

That right there is our friend, the pacarana. Yeah, sorry to burst the great showering rat hype bubble of 2018.

In captivity, the pacarana is known to be docile and to live for up to ten years. Wild animals should be left in the wild, free to live as far from human interference as possible. Nevertheless, when I see this little Master Splinter-looking dude holding hands with this lady my heart melts and I want one immediately.

You just know it would give you the wisest, most pragmatic life advice.

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Petr Knava lives in London and plays music