According to our students, the giant-pouched rat (Cricetomys emini) is the King of Thieves. Kid’s drawings in our previous post illustrate the rat carrying anything and everything and taking these found objects, pebbles, food, money and metallic trash back to their burrows. I get a sense that these nocturnal rodents don’t pose a serious threat to the local communities but perhaps a source of humor.

In recent weeks, we’ve been covering life science followed by our lesson Animals Living in Volcanoes National Park. This week we are teaching our students what animals need to survive and learning about classification. The giant-pouched rat starred as our animal inhabiting the nearby forest.

Innocent asks the students what the animals living in Volcanoes National Park need to survive. What type of food do they eat? Where and what is their source of water? What kind of shelter?

Eric introduces a system of organization for all organisms.

A student rests on top of the bench while pretending to be the giant-pouched rat. AoC teacher Fahad talks about the rat’s size in comparison to the height of a human being.

A student imitates a pilfering giant-pouched rat.

More thievery.

Imitation of a runaway rat.

Visuals are passed around the classroom.

Drawing the giant-pouched rat.

Stay tuned here for more great animal pictures.