Bones of Mysterious 'Giant Cloud Rats' Discovered in a Cave in Philippines

According to scientists, giant cloud rats once roamed the Earth thousands of years ago. They believe humans played a part in the extinction of the now-extinct creatures, which were furry with large, bushy tails.

The findings of the study were published in the Journal of Mammalogy.

Bushy Tailed Ancient Rodents

This evidence indicates that these ancient rats "were robust and persistent for at least 60,000 years," according to researchers.

"Our records show that these giant rodents were able to withstand the dramatic climatic shifts from the ice age to the new humid tropics that have affected the world over tens of centuries," said Philip Piper of the Australian National University.

"What is the most likely cause of their extinction?" says the researcher.

Researchers suspect that the apparent extinction of the giant rodents may be attributed to humans, as the disappearance of the cloud rats coincided with the discovery of pottery and Neolithic stone tools.

Another hypothesis is that they went extinct at the same time "as dogs, domestic pigs, and most likely monkeys were brought to the Philippines."

"While we can't tell for sure based on our current evidence," Armand Mijares, an archaeological studies professor at the University of the Philippines, said, "this means that humans certainly played some part in their extinction."

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