Scientists find giant rat in Indonesia

JAKARTA, Dec. 17 (Xinhua) -- Scientists have found two mammals believed new to science on the latest expedition to an almost lost world in Indonesia's Papua province Conservation International (CI)said in a statement on Monday.

Scientists from CI and the Indonesia Institute of Science (LIPI)visited the Foja Mountains in June 2007, following a first trip to the area in late 2005 that saw them discover dozens of new plants and animals.

"During the June expedition, the team documented two mammals, a Mallomys giant rat and a Carcartetus pygmy possum, one of the world's smallest marsupials, both currently under study and apparently new to science," CI said in the statement.

"The giant rat is about five times the size of a typical city rat. With no fear of humans, it apparently came into the camp several times during the trip," said Kristofer Helgen, a scientist with the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.

The scientists also recorded the mating displays of several rare and little-known birds for the first time.

"It's comforting to know that there is a place on earth so isolated that it remains the absolute realm of wild nature," said CI vice president Bruce Beehler, who led the expedition.

"We were pleased to see that this little piece of Eden remains as pristine and enchanting as it was when we first visited," he added.

CI and LIPI plan another expedition back to the Foja Mountains in late 2008 or 2009.

They expect to find additional new species of frogs, mammals, butterflies, and plants.

Activists have already warned that the forests in the area are under threat from large-scale forest destruction.

Indonesia, which is losing its forests at the world's fastest rate, is struggling to safe its rain-forest from deforestation.