"Ratzilla" caught in Stockholm family home -- giant 16" rat

[blondebear]

Rats the size of cats? Were they sucked on by fleas the size of rats?

[Penfeather]

I do not believe they exist.

[Octarine]

I like how the article shoves in the “rats could grow as big as sheep” factoid at the very end; a little more time spent on that would be nice, thanks . . .

[Maserschmidt]

@Octarine

I like how the article shoves in the “rats could grow as big as sheep” factoid at the very end; a little more time spent on that would be nice, thanks . . .

And why stop at sheep? Rats the size of ponies!

[StJoan]

I must be the only one who feels sad for the poor rat. He is big, but quite cute. Quite magnificient, in fact. Not his fault that humans are always at war with his kind.

[Johnny_L.A]

A recording paying outside the freak show at the Antelope Valley Fair and Alfalfa Festival, early-1980s:

SEE the giant KILLER RAT! Three foot long KILLER RAT! Its jaws are so powerful, it can TAKE YOUR HAND OFF IN A SINGLE BITE! RAT! RAT!

(In actuality, it was a capybara – a herbivorous ‘river rat’.)

[Colibri]

@HoneyBadgerDC

Norway rats don’t get that big, my first thought is that it must be one of those African pouched rats that have been making their way into the pet trade.

@nevadaexile

I agree.

It looks to be some type of pouched rat or perhaps a hybrid.

It looks like an exceptionally large Norway Rat Rattus norvegicus to me. While a weight of 1 kg would be extreme, it is at the upper range known for the species.

Other reports of giant rats in other places have in fact turned out to be African Pouched Rats, but this one definitely is not. Pouched Rats have much larger ears and sleeker fur. They also typically have two-toned tails, with the outer part whitish. A hybrid with Norway Rat is very unlikely, since Pouched Rats are only distantly related to *Rattus * rats.

@nevadaexile

Quote:
However, scientists do believe they (rats) could eventually grow into the size of sheep, Dr Jan Zalasiewicz, of the University of Leicester in the UK, recently told the BBC.

There already are “rats” that size.
They are called capybaras and they live in South America.

Capybara - Wikipedia

Although Capybaras are rodents, I wouldn’t call them rats. They are in a completely different part of the order from true rats.

[Colibri]

@Maserschmidt

And why stop at sheep? Rats the size of ponies!

Or bulls. The largest known rodent, Josephartiogasia monesi, may have been 10 feet long and weighed a ton.

[Johnny_L.A]

@Colibri

Although Capybaras are rodents, I wouldn’t call them rats. They are in a completely different part of the order from true rats.

Colloquially, they are sometimes called ‘river rats’; regardless of their taxonomy.

[Colibri]

@Johnny_L.A

Colloquially, they are sometimes called ‘river rats’; regardless of their taxonomy.

Where are capybaras called river rats (besides state fairs)?

[Dr.Drake]

@nevadaexile

I agree.

It looks to be some type of pouched rat or perhaps a hybrid. A rat that large would be vulnerable to stray dogs, as well as raccoons,larger birds of prey and other wild life. There aren’t many evolutionary advantages to being large.

Are there many raccoons in Sweden to prey on them?

[Colibri]

@Dr.Drake

Are there many raccoons in Sweden to prey on them?

Raccoons have been introduced to Europe and Japan, but as far as I know haven’t spread to Sweden yet.

Contrary to nevadexile’s speculation, with respect to predation there is considerable evolutionary benefit to being large. Within limits, the larger you are the fewer predators are big enough to eat you. The main disadvantage in getting large is finding enough food.

[nevadaexile]

@Colibri

Raccoons have been introduced to Europe and Japan, but as far as I know haven’t spread to Sweden yet.

You never know.

@Colibri

Contrary to nevadexile’s speculation, with respect to predation there is considerable evolutionary benefit to being large. Within limits, the larger you are the fewer predators are big enough to eat you. The main disadvantage in getting large is finding enough food.

The animals which would predate commonly upon rats would probably not concern themselves with its size as they would kill a large rat in the same manner that they would kill a smaller one: Seizing it behind or by its throat and crushing its neck vertebrae or suffocating it.

A larger rat would move slower than a smaller one and thus would be more vulnerable to attack.

[nevadaexile]

@Colibri

It looks like an exceptionally large Norway Rat Rattus norvegicus to me. While a weight of 1 kg would be extreme, it is at the upper range known for the species.

Other reports of giant rats in other places have in fact turned out to be African Pouched Rats, but this one definitely is not. Pouched Rats have much larger ears and sleeker fur. They also typically have two-toned tails, with the outer part whitish. A hybrid with Norway Rat is very unlikely, since Pouched Rats are only distantly related to *Rattus * rats.

I’d reserve judgment until the autopsy.

@Colibri

Quote:

Originally Posted by nevadaexile View Post
Quote:
However, scientists do believe they (rats) could eventually grow into the size of sheep, Dr Jan Zalasiewicz, of the University of Leicester in the UK, recently told the BBC.

There already are “rats” that size.
They are called capybaras and they live in South America.

Capybara - Wikipedia

Although Capybaras are rodents, I wouldn’t call them rats. They are in a completely different part of the order from true rats.

That’s why I put it in “quotes.”

[pulykamell]

@White SIFL

Big for a rat maybe but those pics are forced perspective.

ETA, link: Forced perspective - Wikipedia
.

Not really. The second photo might be somewhat more difficult to scale in your mind, but with the first, I actually would have guessed a little smaller (around 14") based on the picture but it turns out it’s 16". There’s nothing extreme about the angle that would make forced perspective something to consider too deeply. And they both have a mouse/rat trap in the photo to help you scale, so that gives you a clue as to what you’re looking at (assuming you have a reasonable idea of what size mouse/rat traps are.)

[Chronos]

My first thought was that it was actually a possum that got into the country somehow, but no, that’s definitely not a possum’s head. And it was actually trapped and properly measured, so we’re not just dealing with the eek effect that tends to inflate the size of rodents, snakes, and the like.

[Loach]

Ratzilla, or as he’s called in NYC, Junior.

[Colibri]

@nevadaexile

The animals which would predate commonly upon rats would probably not concern themselves with its size as they would kill a large rat in the same manner that they would kill a smaller one: Seizing it behind or by its throat and crushing its neck vertebrae or suffocating it.

Which animals are those, exactly?:dubious:

The animals that prey on rats, as I said, would be concerned about size regardless of their method of preying on them. The larger the animal the harder it’s going to be to kill and (if necessary) carry off. The larger the animal the fewer predators it would have.

A larger rat would move slower than a smaller one and thus would be more vulnerable to attack.

Cite? This isn’t necessarily so. Larger animals may move faster in absolute terms than smaller ones.

I’d reserve judgment until the autopsy.

No need for an autopsy. The photo is good enough to rule out an African Giant Rat, at least.

[Johnny_L.A]

@Colibri

Where are capybaras called river rats (besides state fairs)?

Local fair. I probably heard it on a documentary in the '70s or '80s. Also:

http://www.wsaz.com/news/headlines/Life_on_the_Rodent_127481573.html

Rufus is a South American river rat called a capybara, the world’s largest rodent.

http://angrybearblog.com/2007/01/giant-south-american-river-rats.html

Here’s the Smithsonian’s page on the “Capybara” – a South American river rat that looks kinda like a cross between small horse and a giant mutant hamster.

Quizzes | Free Online Quizzes | PCHquizzes

It is a south american river rat,

Note that I’m not disputing it’s not a rat. It isn’t. But some people call them that. (I call them ‘capybaras’.)

.

[Kamino_Neko]

@StJoan

I must be the only one who feels sad for the poor rat.

You’re not. Poor little guy. Well…big guy.