Giant rat caught in China .

A giant rat with one-inch-long teeth has been caught in the southern Chinese province of Fujian.




The rat, which weighed six pounds and had a 12-inch tail, was caught
at the weekend in a residential area of Fuzhou, a city of six million
people on China's south coast.The ratcatcher, who was only named
as Mr Xian, said he swooped for the rodent after seeing a big crowd of
people surrounding it on the street.He told local Chinese
newspapers that he thought the rat might be a valuable specimen, or a
rare species, and had to muster up his courage before grabbing its tail
and picking it up by the scruff of its neck."I did it, I caught
a rat the size of a cat!" he shouted out afterwards, according to the
reports. Mr Xian is believed to still be in possession of the animal,
after stuffing into a bag and departing the scene.The local
forestry unit in the city identified the nightmarish creature as a
bamboo rat from initial photographs, but said that it would need to
examine
the rat more closely before making a final identification.Chinese
bamboo rats rarely grow beyond ten inches and are found throughout
southern China, northern Burma and Vietnam. However,
the Sumatra bamboo rat, usually found in the south-western Chinese
province of Yunnan and in the Malay Peninsula can grow up to 30 inches
long, including tail, and can weigh up to eight pounds. A "Giant Rat of Sumatra" is mentioned in the Sherlock Holmes tale: The Adventure of a Sussex Vampire.All
bamboo rats are slow-moving and usually spend their time in underground
burrows, feeding on bamboo. Chinese bamboo rats are often sold for meat
in Chinese markets. The largest rats in the world are thought to be
African giant pouched rats, which can grow up to 36 inches in length.



I hope we do not get them here .

Yummy Chop Suey tonight :-))))))