NATURAL HISTORY OF SOUTH AFRICA 



Bechuanaland is almost sandy on the back, the dorsal 

 stripes being very indistinct, and the ears pale. 

 The habits of all these local races of the Striped 

 Rat are more or less similar. 



They are found wherever there is suitable cover in 

 the shape of thick tussocks of grass, brushwood, scrub 

 and bush, usually in the neighbourhood of water. 



The Striped Rat does not as a rule form a burrow. 

 It builds a nest of grass, leaves, fibres and moss, or 

 any other suitable material which may be at hand. 

 The nest is placed in the centre of a dense shrub, 

 in a tussock of grass, amongst the roots of a tree, 

 on the ground, under a mass of brushwood, in or 

 under old tins, lumber, etc. When grass is available 

 it is always utilised for nest building. The grass is 

 carefully shredded for the interior of the little home, 

 in which a pair of Field Rats dwell. When the 

 time for breeding arrives, which occurs several times 

 annually, the female takes possession of the nest, 

 lines it with softer material, and brings forth a litter 

 of from five to a dozen blind, helpless babies. As 

 soon as these are reared and sent off into the world, 

 another family is forthcoming. 



Although the Striped Rat is common in gardens, 

 it does not show the slightest disposition to become a 

 house-dweller, like its cousins the Black and Brown 

 Rats. 



The Striped Rat is common in and about Port 

 Elizabeth, and may often be met with in gardens, 

 even in the centre of the city. 

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