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
Gambia Regiment the Gambia Regiment was sent to establish a position at the junction of the Sangu River and the Remanki Chaung, north of Singpa, which the Tripura Rifles were sent to patrol. The Gambia Regiment continued to play a role through the re-taking of Kaladan Valley from Japanese forced. In November 1944, the 81st (West Africa) Division began to move down Kaladan Valley, and on 3 December reached Kaladan Village. The Arakan offensive began on 14 December, with the division taking Thandada on 24 December. On 24 January, the division forced the Japanese from Myohaung, and by May all West African