The bushveld rat is a small rodent that lives in the arid shrublands of South Africa. It builds large nests from branches among the bushes and feeds on plants.
The bushveld rat differs from related species in that it builds large, noticeable nests from sticks in the bushes rather than digging underground burrows. It is important to nature as a herbivorous animal and as food for snakes, owls, and small predators.
meadows, prairies, forb glades on land
Immature form that undergoes metamorphosis before adulthood.
Whiskers count
Worker
Tail size
birth time
sticks
breeding
Hot and almost no precipitation
Dogs, dolphins, lynx hang out for 9-25 years and party on their birthday three times a year
m
Map
will celebrate their {n} birthday
g
t
When your next jubilee falls in {name} life years
Human
hot Africa south of the desert, many savannas and forests
days
How old you would be if you lived as {name}
Theoretical maximum lifespan estimated from the Dynamic Energy Budget (DEB) mathematical model. This value reflects a biological potential derived from metabolic parameters, not from direct observation — real recorded lifespans are often significantly shorter.
adult
Maturity
plants
About health
milk
When your next birthday would fall if you lived as {name}
Repro interval
results
Colors
Sex
Upcoming jubilees
Gremllins
mo
rains are very rare, almost a desert
conifer cones
alpine meadows and arctic tundra on land
Trophic type
Filters
summer very hot, dry, lots of grass
Tail count
young shoots and sprouts
grass
Upcoming birthdays
Breeding structure built or used for laying eggs and raising offspring.
in bushes or on a tree
eggs, roe or offspring develop in a nest built on the ground or close to it
Truly long lives: 40-100 years. Bowhead whales, albatrosses, giant tortoises recall their birthday at most once a year
Lifespan
nest on the ground
Desert and dry shrubs
young are born live on land, not hatched from eggs or roe
Age (juvenile)
Age (from birth to death)
cones of coniferous trees with seeds
Age (embryo)
Wanderers
world of Australasia
Jubilee = every 10th birthday
dry, cold winter, lots of grass, few trees
Earliest developmental stage inside an egg or womb.
Business sausages
roots
Lifespan average
nest located directly on the ground surface on land, only the mother provides parental care for the offspring
in a terrestrial nest
leaves
Incisors color
Whiskers size
grasses
live birth
What do they look like?
Maturity
emergence (insects)
end of lifespan
How do they live?
fertilization / egg laying
How do they behave?
birth / hatching
metamorphosis / end of larval stage
end of acceleration
Share
seeds
Find a pet...
Mature, fully developed individual capable of reproduction.
65 to 130 grams, 25 – 60 centimeters
Pets
shoots
Hot steppe
{name} jubilee
cm
Old-timers
Find an animal or breed...
turns
Rascals
terrestrial forest
terrestrial herbaceous
Tail color
drink mother's milk in childhood
shrub leaves
hot Africa south of the desert, many savannas and forests
Litter size
Map data sources: Ecosystem classification — IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology (Keith et al., 2022), indicative distribution maps Keith et al. (2020), https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3546513; Large Marine Ecosystems — NOAA LME Program; Bathymetry — GEBCO Bathymetric Compilation Group (2026), GEBCO_2026 Grid, https://doi.org/10.5285/4f68d5c7-45eb-f999-e063-7086abc036fa; Climate data — Generated using Copernicus Climate Change Service information; Species occurrence data — GBIF.org, Derived dataset "all animals", https://zveriki.com/dataset/dataset.tsv; Terrestrial ecoregions — RESOLVE Ecoregions 2017 (Dinerstein et al., 2017), CC BY 4.0
How to care for them?
Living from 25 to 40 years. Orangutans, bald eagles, African elephants celebrate their birthday twice a year
grazing
°C
Not specified
alpine and arctic tundra
Where are they found?
herbivore
Whiskers color
Feeds by cropping or nibbling low-growing vegetation or algae.
Legendary longevity: over 100 years. Galapagos tortoises, Greenland sharks, ocean quahogs celebrate with family once every 4 years
Offspring
Elders
leaves and stems of grasses and other herbaceous vegetation
Bro
Taxons
if born as {name}
age
birth date
rest
Fur color
Close
was
Career from 7 to 15 months. Dwarf hamsters, voles, field crickets celebrate their birthday twice a month
The basics
herbivory, feed only on plant food
My weight?
Non-stop carnival: they only live a few days. Mayflies, rotifers, midges celebrate their birthday more than twice a day
primary food sources
teeth
arid steppe
after transformation until death
Potential Habitat
lots of grass, few trees, rains are rare
d
In husbandry
On the go from 1.3 to 3.5 years. Forest mice, anoles, rainbow fish party on their birthday once a month
Mass
young shoots and leaves of plants
Mosquitoes, fruit flies, small crustaceans hustle for up to 7 months and throw a birthday party every week
Plants
Gestation
islands and part of Australia, many unusual animals and plants
land
{name} birthday
grass
No results found
On the map
young shoots, sprouts, green plant shoots
all life stages
Female ♀
Cold and almost dry
gnaws plants
world of Afrotropics
nest located directly on the ground surface on land
Map data sources: Ecosystem classification — IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology (Keith et al., 2022), indicative distribution maps Keith et al. (2020), https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3546513; Large Marine Ecosystems — NOAA LME Program; Bathymetry — GEBCO Bathymetric Compilation Group (2026), GEBCO_2026 Grid, https://doi.org/10.5285/4f68d5c7-45eb-f999-e063-7086abc036fa; Climate data — Generated using Copernicus Climate Change Service information; Species occurrence data — GBIF.org, Derived dataset "all animals", https://zveriki.com/dataset/dataset.tsv; Terrestrial ecoregions — RESOLVE Ecoregions 2017 (Dinerstein et al., 2017), CC BY 4.0
Potential habitat modelled from GBIF occurrence data. Map © Zveriki.com, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
birth year
lots of grass, few trees, rains occur
Shelter used specifically for reproduction or nesting.
Maturity
Skin color
terrestrial habitat, land surface outside water
sq mm
yr
protection from sun
How similar?
Male ♂
until the celebration
baby / chick
age as {name}
How do they breed?
On the go from 3.5 to 6 years. Hedgehogs, crows, lizards treat themselves to birthday snacks 6 times a year
What if eaten?
Very dry
Neither
from birth to adulthood
Young offspring still dependent on parental care.
nest
caring mother
What do they eat?
dry and cold almost all year round
Where do they live?
Immature individual that has not yet reached reproductive maturity.
early young
Hard dental structures used to bite, tear, or scrape food.
forests on land — tropical, temperate, boreal
world of Afrotropics
nest high on shrub or tree branches
Duration
This is me
Steppe
Gamers
How are they built?
Temperate steppe
mm
Theoretical lifespan
ml
Stars
Link copied
My age?
wk
My size?
terrestrial
Asexual
swap
roots and plant tubers
Rabbits, falcons, red-eared turtles hang out for 6-9 years and party on their birthday four times a year
Where do they take shelter?
inhabit and develop on land, outside water bodies
celebrated their {n} birthday
When you would have been born if you lived as {name}
Cold steppe
Daddies
Lifespan maximum
very hot and almost no precipitation
Hermaphrodite ⚥
embryo
Carrot
Incisors count
Length
kg
very hot and dry, rare rains, cacti live
Observations
◉{N} more on tap