Ecological habits of Bigfoot rat

Bigfoot rats mainly live in forest areas or farmland in the foothills of Anhui Province. In forest areas, they mainly live in bushes or crevices on both sides of streams or near water sources. In the farmland at the foot of the mountain, mice often live in the crevices on both sides of the ridge of rice fields or in the bushes and graves around rice fields. In mountainous forest areas, indoor migration is often carried out in winter, and indoor Bigfoot rats in Luohan Dang, susong county (altitude1040m) and Furong Building, Huangshan both occupy a certain proportion in winter.

In different areas, different habitats and different years, the number of Bigfoot rats varies greatly. The number of large-footed rats on the southern slope of Dabie Mountain is higher than that on the northern slope. For example, in the investigation of 1980 Baimazhai Forest Farm in Jinzhai, the proportion of Bigfoot rats was 2.78%, and 205 wild rats were captured in Qingfengling Forest Farm in Huoshan County, but Bigfoot rats were not captured. In Yinhe Township, Yuexi County, the percentage of Rattus Bigfoot is 8.64% in the south slope, 6% in Qianshan County, and 22.06% in Chen Han Mountain, susong county (1973), which is much higher than that in Yuexi County and Qianshan County, which may be caused by the difference of rainfall and temperature in different years. For example, 1980, we investigated in Li Shan District, Qimen County, and found that Rattus Bigfoot accounted for 8.23%, Ningguo County for 4.8% and Xiuning County for 2. 15%. 1983, according to our investigation in Huangshan city, Bigfoot rat accounts for 60% of wild rat species. From 65438 to 0984, in Sankou Township, Huangshan City, Bigfoot rats accounted for 59.26%. Cave:

Most of Bigfoot's caves are in thorns and rocks, which are difficult to dig. 1984, we dug two big-footed rat holes in Shuitianling on the hillside of Sankou Township, Huangshan City. Each cave has 4-5 holes, about 6 cm in diameter, and the tunnel is extremely long. One of the caves is 3: 8 meters long, and the entrance hole is above the ridge. The back hole is in the shrub beside the ditch, and it gradually begins to descend about 40 cm into the hole. The horizontal distance from the entrance is 253 cm, and the nest is made of straw, leaves and weeds. The diameter of the nest is13×15cm. No grain was found in the tunnel, but there were leftover bean shells, rice husks and insect chitin shells. At a horizontal distance of about 45 cm from the exit hole, the tunnel begins to branch and leads to two exit holes. The exit hole was extremely hidden, and it was stuck in the bushes near the ditch, and 1 mouse was caught in the hole.

Feeding habits:

* * * The stomachs of 23 rats were dissected, in which starchy food was the main food, followed by the pericarp, grass seeds and grass roots of berries. Eight of the 23 mice had rat hair in their stomachs, and a rat trap was placed in the mouth of Dazu mouse in Sankou Township, Huangshan City. When the rat trap was collected the next day, no rat trap was found. After digging the rat hole, 1 male rat was caught, and the rat trap placed in the hole on the first day was also found, and there was only one rat trap left. In addition, mice are big, need a lot of water, and like to eat foods with more water. From 65438 to 0983, when we investigated in the suburbs of Huangshan City, we found that rice stalks at jointing and booting stages were bitten off by Bigfoot rats in a large area, and at the same time, we saw farmers catching live Bigfoot rats in the murdered fields. Because Bigfoot rat is good at swimming, it is very harmful to rice seeds raised in Jiangnan area of our province. We found that Bigfoot rats accounted for 68% of the species of wild rats in the field ridge of rice fields in Sankou Township, Taiping.

Migration:

Although the rat is a rodent in mountainous and forest areas, it has the habit of foraging and migration. In winter and spring, rats often migrate to the farmland at the foot of the mountain for food and life. For example, in the spring of 1984, our investigation in Sankou Township showed that the proportion of big-bellied rats in farmland ridges was 59.26%, while that in coniferous and broad-leaved mixed forests was only 1.42%. During the rice sowing season in Huangshan City, rats on the farmland ridges accounted for more than 60% of the total rats. In winter, indoor activities are sometimes carried out, such as Luohandang Forest Farm in susong county 1973 (elevation1040m), where indoor rodents account for more than 50%, and rooms in Huangshansong Ancient Temple and Furong also account for a certain proportion in winter. The above also shows that Bigfoot rats have certain seasonal migration habits.