Yet another reason I carry a gun: Giant Rats

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Dr_2_B

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I mean, it ain't so big you couldn't kill it with a scattergun.


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A huge rat is about the same size as a small dog, but a lot scarier for some reason. Repulsive creatures.
 
Much sharper teeth.

I cannot stand rats, having been bitten by one. I found a snake to feed it to shortly after.
 
That's mostly an optical illusion. That appears to be a flat cutting/edging blade it's resting on... probably about six inches wide. The camera lens was somewhat wide angle and this adds to the illusion.
 
Gambian pouch rat.

These are BIG (cat size). Florida now has a problem with them, since they became established in the Keys.

They can become a major problem and do carry exotic and dangerous diseases, such as monkeypox.

Not good.
 
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As the articles state, a Gambian pouch rat. Imported into the U.S. as pets for awhile they are known for being docile critters. About the year 2000 or so the importation was banned due to a scare that they might carry monkey pox, or athlete's foot or something. Some got loose or were set loose and have established homes. No doubt they will grow to 4 or 5 feet and 200 pounds and be living in the sewers of New York fighting off giant albino alligators.

tipoc
 
Go to any grain elevator. I saw a number that were larger than a loaf of bread sans tail when we were working on some R/R track during college years in Kansas back in the day.

The elevator crew didn't use pistols but did have .22 rifles and flashlights when they went down into the conveyor tunnel below the silos. Lots and lots of red eyes looking your way when you shined the light down the tunnel. Most of the crew wore tall lace up boots (like most KS farmers) and had their jeans bloused inside (for good reason I was told).

Geyawd!
 
"Hey, sewer rat may taste like pumpkin pie, but I'd never know 'cause I wouldn't eat the filthy mother&*%$"- Puilp Fiction

On the Mississippi River grain barges in Minnesota, I've seen some at least this size and they're not cute little furballs...the barge hands have a contest every night to see who can shoot the heaviest rat.
 
Supposedly several small Florida islands have a MAJOR problem with those things. Saw something on AP/Discovery/NatGeo about it. One more invasive species.
 
My thought was that it could be just another photoshopped picture. Read further and was quite impressed. What a thing.

A Texan friend told me once he used "snake pellets" inside his property to get rid of rattlers when he found them. This was a few years ago and I also didn't hear such a thing existed until he explained it to me. He used them in some kind of .357 revolver. Our venomous snakes over here are usually shy, small (biggest one you might come across would be 2 ft long) and aren't deadly unless they bite an elder person or a child.
 
Nordeste, snake shot loads are manufactured by a couple of companies, CCI is probably the biggest. They are generally a plastic cup full of shot loaded as if it were a solid projectile.

I don't know how well they work, but they keep making them. Probably ideal for very small creatures.
 
Supposedly several small Florida islands have a MAJOR problem with those things. Saw something on AP/Discovery/NatGeo about it. One more invasive species.
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I almost got in a wreck one night swerving to miss one of these things. I didn't know what it was until now. The thing was huge! It looked like a possum on steroids.
Gotta love living in Florida....lionfish, Asian eels, giant pythons, and now this. All of them started out as exotic pets and now all are out in the wild destroying native species. Why can't people just be happy with a cat or a dog anymore?
 
NG VI;

Yep, some time ago I googled about it and saw how they are and work. Thank you, anyway.
 
That's mostly an optical illusion. That appears to be a flat cutting/edging blade it's resting on... probably about six inches wide. The camera lens was somewhat wide angle and this adds to the illusion.
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Yep - when they made the Lord of the Rings movies this was a lot of the way they made the hobbits appear so small compared to the other actors. Use a camera trick to have both in focus, but have the hobbits stand much farther away from the camera. Doing that they appear small - but reverse it and have something closer and it will appear very large.

Not saying its not a big rate - but in comparison to the human behind it it's just a nice photography trick.
 
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