West African shaggy rat long as the head-and-body length; it is ringed by small scales and clad with sparse short bristles. The head-and-body length of this rat averages and the weight averages . The West African shaggy rat is native to tropical West Africa; its rangeincludes Benin, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo. It inhabits wetlands and swampy areas, streams, riverbanks, lakesides, young oil-palm plantations and rice fields. The West African shaggy rat is a terrestrial species. It is nocturnal and a good swimmer. It lives in a shallow burrow, the entrance often hidden under a
Military history of The Gambia Giffard was its first General Officer Commanding. His headquarters was established near Accra and his task was to ensure the defence of all West African territories and coordination of military resources in the West African colonies. The first Commanding Officer Gambia Area was appointed on 19 December 1940, in the form of Colonel (Acting) Neil Dewar Rice (he was promoted to Acting Brigadier in August 1941). On 10 December 1941, GHQ West Africa Command was formed to supersede HQ Military Forces West Africa. It had under its command four areas: Nigeria Area, Gold Coast Area, Sierra Leone Area, and Gambia