Going fishing, woman catches strange-looking animal, turns out to be rare species

The woman could not hide her surprise at this special animal.

The president of the Betong Animal Lovers Club, Phatcharin Prathummek, contacted several news agencies to report on her rare discovery. She then took journalists to her home where the animal, which was found floating in the canal, is being kept.

The moon rat was caught by Ms. Phatcharin Prathummek.

Channel 3 reported that the animal was kept in a round plastic bucket outside Phatcharin's house. She revealed that she had never seen the creature before and had no information about it. She described its appearance as strange, with a body like a rat but a face like a pig.

Phatcharin happened to see the animal floating along the canal, so she used a fishing net to pull it out of the canal to save its life. At first she thought it was a bamboo rat but she was wrong.

Adding to her surprise was the foul smell and aggressive behaviour of the animal, which forced her to lock it in a bucket. The animal is said to have weighed more than 1kg.

The animal was so ferocious that she had to lock it in a bucket.

Phatcharin studied the animal and identified it as a moon rat , a species listed as endangered. The moon rat is known as the Noo Men or Sato in Thailand. The name Noo Men comes from its strong stench, as the word 'men' in Thai means 'stink'.

Moon rats are known for their strong ammonia-like smell, which they use to communicate with other moon rats. They are solitary animals, preferring to live in burrows, tree holes, or crevices under tree roots.

The Moon Rat has long, shaggy black and white fur, with a distinctive black stripe running across its eyes. Its upper lip and nose are long and slender, while its tail, like that of a rat, is covered in small scales.

Moon rats primarily eat worms, beetles, various insects and earthworms but they also eat frogs, toads, shrimp, crabs, fish and snails.

Moon rats are listed as endangered.

Moon rats are endangered due to the continued destruction of their forest habitat. They are also protected under Thailand's Wildlife Conservation and Protection Act.

Phatcharin and her fishing friends stressed that their intention in sharing the news was to highlight the amazing find. They assured the public that they have no intention of keeping the moon rat as a pet and will return it to its natural habitat as soon as possible.