webeagle12 Posted August 28, 2011 Share Posted August 28, 2011 It sounds like an urban legend: giant mutant-looking rats roaming a city housing project. Only there's a picture. A photo making the rounds shows Housing Authority worker Jose Rivera minutes after he speared the humongous rodent with a pitchfork at the Marcy Houses. It's covered in white fur and looks well-fed. It appears to be about three feet long, including its hideously dangling tail. And Rivera, 48, says it's not the only one. He insists that while he was filling a rat hole last week, three came running out - but he was only able to nail one. "I hit it one time and it was still moving," Rivera said. "I hit it another time and that's when it died. I'm not scared of rats but I was scared of being bitten." Naomi Colon, head of the Marcy Houses Tenant Association, said there have been sightings of the outsize rat for at least six years. "The residents have told me that they've seen it running around with other rats. She lived with them. She ran into the same hole they ran in." Animal experts who viewed the picture identified the animal as a Gambian pouched rat, which is a fairly common pet rat. They're nocturnal, can grow to three feet and four pounds or more, and live seven or eight years. Imports have been banned since 2003, when they were blamed for a monkeypox outbreak that sickened 100 people in the United States. Dr. Paul Calle, director of zoological health at the Wildlife Conservation Society, said the Marcy Houses specimen was probably an escaped or discarded pet who decided to join the regular rat race. "They are a very social animal and live in big groups in the wild. Our Norway rats are the closest big rodents it could accompany," he said. They can even be trained to sniff out landmines or even tuberculosis. "They're pretty remarkable animals," Calle said. Tenants fear that the Gambian rat has been breeding with the Norway rats and spawning a super-breed of rodents - but zoo officials say not to worry. The imported rat probably wouldn't mate with local rats, and it couldn't reproduce if it did, because each is from a different genus, Calle said. Residents say that while the monster-sized rat may be the stuff of horror movies, the run-of-the-mill rats are an even bigger nightmare at the project where Jay-Z grew up. "Even the cats are afraid of the rats. They get together and gang up on the cats, said resident Stephanie Davis, 44. Pam Davis, 43, added, "They're here day and night. We don't dodge bullets. We dodge rats.They're so big, they should charge them rent." The New York City Housing Authority had no immediate comment. Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2011/08/25/2011-08-25_giant_rat_killed_by_pitchfork_in_marcy_houses_is_believed_to_be_.html#ixzz1WHlCx3Ec Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pam14160 Posted August 28, 2011 Share Posted August 28, 2011 BBQ anyone. . . :woot: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Seetheworldsecond Subscriber¹ Posted August 28, 2011 Subscriber¹ Share Posted August 28, 2011 wow wtf this hella reminds me of that one how i met your mother episode when lilly and marshal find that mutated rat/roach hybrid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n_K Posted August 28, 2011 Share Posted August 28, 2011 Looks about the same size as the wild rats that used to run all over the steelworks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Osiris Posted August 28, 2011 Share Posted August 28, 2011 LOL "we dont dodge bullets we dodge rats" ah yeah that would suck, be it the giant kind or the smaller kind. :\ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeerFan Posted August 28, 2011 Share Posted August 28, 2011 wow wtf this hella reminds me Seriously? http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1930571203338879231 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tiagosilva29 Posted August 28, 2011 Share Posted August 28, 2011 Why did he killed that innocent average size rat!? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zwolf Posted August 28, 2011 Share Posted August 28, 2011 whatever about the rat, that's one big pitchfork... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PsyOpWarlord Posted August 29, 2011 Share Posted August 29, 2011 whatever about the rat, that's one big pitchfork... All a play on trick photography with the angle of the shot. If you were to look at it form other angles it wouldn't be nearly as big as it looks in that photo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheatyface Posted August 29, 2011 Share Posted August 29, 2011 I was expecting mutant rats, not well fed normal rats. I am disappoint. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocM Posted August 29, 2011 Share Posted August 29, 2011 There are giant South American rodents infiltrating California called capybara that max out at 120 - 150 lbs. Probably escaped pets (yes, pets - like a giant guinea pig) that could become an invasive species. Good eating though. Big enough for you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cork1958 Posted August 29, 2011 Share Posted August 29, 2011 All I can say, politely, is dang! That's one big mouse. I don't think I could find a way to plug it into my computer and besides, my hands are kind of small! Yeah, I know, there's a difference between a rat and a mouse. :) I'm not usually spooked by mice and things, if I see them first, but that thing would have me running regardless!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocM Posted August 29, 2011 Share Posted August 29, 2011 Aw c'con - they're good natured vegetarians. Give them a wading pool and their own blanket and you have a friend forever. That said, in the wild they've been known to chase off large dogs, probably taking them as a predator threat to their young. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Growled Member Posted August 29, 2011 Member Share Posted August 29, 2011 I think we are going to need a bigger mouse trap. :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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