Cloud rats are beautiful rodents that can be found only in the Philippines. Of the six known species of cloud rats, however, one is already considered extinct. The most spectacular cloud rat of all is the giant bushy-tailed cloud rat. It can only be found in the mountains of Benguet and Ifugao

Biology and Habits

Cloud rats are nocturnal animals that are among the most attractive in the world. All of the six species that have been identified so far are found nowhere else but in the Philippines. Two of these are the Northern Luzon slender-tailed cloud rat (Phloeomys pallidus) and the Southern Luzon slender-tailed cloud rat (P. cumingi). The former is common in some areas in Nueva Ecija, Nueva Vizcaya, Isabela and Cagayan, while the latter occurs not only in southern Luzon but also in the nearby small islands of Catanduanes and Marinduque. One major difference between the two species is their color: While the Southern Luzon slender-tailed cloud rat is uniformly blackish-brown in color, the other is predominantly white with a distinct black mask.

The four other species of clud rats belong to the genus Crateromys. The largest and most attractive is the giant bushy-tailed cloud rat (C. schadenbergi). The tail of this species is longer than the length of its body and head. Its fur is thick and soft, just perfect against the prevailing cold weather in its natural habitat, whichis the high mountains of Benguet and Ifugao. It feeds mainly on the pine buds and young cones of trees that abound in the area.

For more than 80 years, the giant bushy-tailed cloud rat was thought of as the only members of its genus. Then, in 1981, scientists described a new species called the Ilin Island cloud rat (C. paulus). It is much smaller than the C. schadenbergi; its tail is shorter than its head and body; and its range was a tiny island off the southwestern tip of Mindoro. In 1985, another species called the Dinagat Island cloud rat (C. australis) was described, and this one occurs only in another small island off the tip of northeastern Mindanao. Aside from the fact that it is larger than the Ilin Island cloud rat but smaller than the giant bushy-tailed cloud rat, the fur of the C. australis is also rough, not coarse and stiff as it is on C. paulus and not soft and bushy like that of C. schadenbergi. Finally, the fourth and newest Crateromys species was discovered only in 1987 in the island of Panay; it has not been described and given a proper scientific name yet.

Practically all cloud rat species are poorly known. Much of what is presently known about their biology comes from the Ecosystems Research and Development Bureau (ERDB), a DENR-affiliated agency which is involved, among others, in breeding in captivity a number of the country's endanegered wildlife species. The bureau presently takes care of several Northern Luzon slender-tailed cloud rats at its Wildlife Breeding Center in Los Banos, Laguna.