148 RODENTS. 
Anderson, the burrows of the moie-rat are made in sandy soil containing quantities 
of bulbs of asphodels and hyacinths, upon which the creature feeds. The tunnels 
are of great extent and complexity, some of the passages being as much as thirty 
or forty yards in length, and are generally about eighteen inches below the surface. 
In certain spots the borings descend, however, to a depth of some four feet, and 
here some of them terminate in chambers packed full of bulbs, while others open 
out into sleeping apartments, from which secondary passages again radiate. Dr. 
Anderson states that “the tunnels are perfectly smooth and cylindrical, and in 
digging through the soil above them numerous bulbs of the same kind as those 
found in the storehouse were observed.” When taken from its burrow, the first 
instinct of the animal is to dig headlong into the soil; and when underground it is 
able to move with equal facility either backwards or forwards. 
In Northern India, Tibet, China, Burma, and the Malayan region, 
as well as in Abyssinia, the family is represented by a group of species, 
commonly known as bamboo-rats (Rhizonys), which differ from the preceding by 
Bamboo-Rats. 



THE GREAT MOLE-RAT (4 nat. size). 
the minute eyes not being covered with skin, as well as by the presence of small 
external naked ears, and of a short tail partially covered with hair. The bay 
bamboo-rat (R. badius), ranging from the Eastern Himalaya to Siam, is one of the 
best known representatives of this genus, and attains a length of from 7 to 9 inches, 
exclusive of the tail, which is about 24 more. This species generally makes its 
burrows among tall rank grass, but sometimes at the roots of trees, and in their 
construction uses its teeth as well as its claws. There is some doubt whether these 
animals drive tunnels in search of roots, as they are known to issue forth at night 
in order to feed on the young shoots of grass, and probably bamboo, but it is 
generally believed that they also eat roots. When above ground, they move 
slowly, and they are said to be so fearless, or stupid, as to allow themselves 
