# What is nocturnal, lives in Australia and gnaws bamboo? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 18, 2016, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-nocturnal-lives-in-australia-and-gnaws-bamboo/752540 "2016-04-18T07:01:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![tavalla](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tavalla/32/89_2.png) [@tavalla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tavalla)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2016, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-nocturnal-lives-in-australia-and-gnaws-bamboo/752540/22 "2016-04-19T11:55:36Z")
Rat teeth grow constantly, so they gnaw on things to keep wearing them down as they grow. Bamboo would be perfect for that, so my bet’s on rats gnawing, not eating, it. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2016, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-nocturnal-lives-in-australia-and-gnaws-bamboo/752540/23 "2016-04-19T15:19:25Z")
This definitely should be in GQ, where all the other brainiacs live. I’m not gonna be the one to report it though; snitches get itches. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2016, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-nocturnal-lives-in-australia-and-gnaws-bamboo/752540/24 "2016-04-19T15:26:26Z")
Wait, native rodents? I thought all of the native mammals in Australia were marsupials. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2016, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-nocturnal-lives-in-australia-and-gnaws-bamboo/752540/25 "2016-04-19T15:33:13Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Wait, native rodents? I thought all of the native mammals in Australia were marsupials. No. There are a bunch of [native Australian rodents](http://fame.org.au/news_resources/endangered_species/australian-rodents) as well. And of course there are bats and seals. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2016, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-nocturnal-lives-in-australia-and-gnaws-bamboo/752540/26 "2016-04-20T06:52:00Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > Wallabies eat grass not hard bamboo stalks. I was thinking more the shoots. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2016, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-nocturnal-lives-in-australia-and-gnaws-bamboo/752540/27 "2016-04-20T07:10:20Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > I was thinking more the shoots. Eats, roots, shoots, and leaves? ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2016, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-nocturnal-lives-in-australia-and-gnaws-bamboo/752540/28 "2016-04-20T13:38:24Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > I was thinking more the shoots. Yebbut as I said, it was a sound like gnawing on wood. Hard wood. Imagine someone working scraping repeatedly on a piece of oak with a sharp chisel. I’m going for rat, myself. Native or otherwise. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-nocturnal-lives-in-australia-and-gnaws-bamboo/752540.md?page=1)