A rarely seen moonrat was nursed back to health and released in Krabi, Thailand.<br /><br />The creature was found suffering from dehydration and fatigue on April 3, 2018.<br /><br />A dog had been chasing the moonrat through the undergrowth.<br /><br />But a passing jogger, Pornchai Sudra, 53, noticed the moonrat and scooped him up before giving it water and bananas to eat. <br /><br />He stopped the dog from chasing the moonrat and captured it in a cage "because it looked exhausted,” Sudra said. “I called my neighbors to have a look as we had never seen anything like it before.”<br /><br />“We have never seen a moonrat in this wildlife sanctuary before,” said Wutthipong Chusangrat, the Chief of Khao Prabangkram Wildlife Sanctuary. “This is the first time.”<br /><br />The moonrat weighed 1 kilogram and was 30-centimeters long and was later seen scurrying away after it was nursed back to health and released into a nearby jungle.<br /><br />Moonrats can be found in the south of Thailand and Malay peninsula. They release a chemical that smells similar to ammonia to ward off attackers.<br /><br />“Despite their name, moonrats are not rodents, although they have a slim body, small unpigmented ears, small eyes, and a tapered muzzle with long whiskers,” according to Britannica.com.
