Saturday, September 23, 2017

Tuesday, September 5, 2017

හීන් ඌරු මීයා[Heen Uru Meeya]/Lesser Bandicoot Rat/Mole Rat (Bandicota bengalensis)

Common rat distributed throughout the island, especially in the rice-growing areas. It make burrows in the paddy field embankments and village gardens to live and stores up large quantities of stolen grains. The nearly circular store chambers are located not far from the breeding or living chamber and hollowed out in the middle or to one side of the main tunnel. Usually there are two store chambers and sometime as many as three or four of them are not uncommon. Each burrow appear to be made and inhabited by one adult or by a female and her pups. Lesser Bandicoot is one of the most prolific rat and female produce a family of 10-12 young at each birth and has several families during each year. Females of Lesser Bandicots start producing young at about 5 months old and they live for over 1.5 years. It is a nocturnal animal rarely seen in the day time. It also feed on herbs, grass roots, tubers like sweet potatoes, rubber and other seeds, etc.