Posted on 02/19/2009 3:52:59 PM PST by nickcarraway
A 2.7kg rat bearing 2.5cm-long teeth has been caught in China.
The nightmarish creature, which has a 30cm tail, was trapped last weekend in Fuzhou, a city along China's south coast, Britain's Telegraph newspaper reports.
The rat catcher, known only as Mr Xian, said he pounced on the creature after spotting a crowd gathering around it.
He said he had to muster up the courage before grabbing its tail and picking it up by the neck.
Mr Xian said he thought the rat may be a rare species or a valuable specimen.
He is believed to still be in possession of the animal after putting it into a bag and leaving with it.
Local wildlife experts believe the rat is a bamboo rat but say they will need to look at more photographs before making a final identification.
Chinese bamboo rats are never normally bigger than 25cm but the Sumatra bamboo rat, found in south-western China, can grow up to 75cm long and weigh up to 3.5kg.
The Chinese bamboo rats are sometimes sold for meat at local markets.
The largest rat in the world is thought to be the African giant pouched rat, which can grow up to 91cm in length.
He needs to be holding something.....what?
LMAO! (Just what the world needs. Another gun-grabbing rat.)
Too true to be funny, and scarier than a busload of 10-lb rodents.
New cook book........101 ways to wok your rat.
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