UM-Bot Posted December 5, 2005 #1 Share Posted December 5, 2005 Rats reported to be "the size of cats" are taking over an estate in Belfast, according to residents. The giant rats have been seen jumping out of bins and even going into houses at the Inverary estate in the east of the city for over a month. Residents said it was like "living in a horror movie". They have to keep doors closed at all times and their children are not allowed outside to play. One man reported that the rats had attacked his dog. View: Full Article | Source: BBC News Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mad Manfred Posted December 5, 2005 #2 Share Posted December 5, 2005 Wow...this is actually kinda cool...can someone get ahold of some pictures? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Welsh Shaun Posted December 5, 2005 #3 Share Posted December 5, 2005 Frightening for the residents. Wonder why the rats act the way they do? Its not natural Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverCougar Posted December 5, 2005 #4 Share Posted December 5, 2005 Frightening for the residents. Wonder why the rats act the way they do? Its not natural Actually it is quite natural. Rats are notorious opportunists.. and have learned how to live off of humans for centuries. Seems like the rats are evolving into something large do to their ability to adapt to the world we've made... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baku Posted December 5, 2005 #5 Share Posted December 5, 2005 Weird but maybe now is a good idea to exterminate them? Rats spread pretty fast and this may soon to outta hand. But a good thing Belfast is on a island so it wont really have much chance to spread throughout Europe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ImAnAlienWa8iD Posted December 5, 2005 #6 Share Posted December 5, 2005 I would volunteer to be part of the eradication team and enjoy it . I have seen a rat that large here in the states (Florida) but only once. Stories of sightings of large rats have been told to me numerous times though. I also think they sound different, their calls or whatever they are are really loud and annoying the large ones. They dig tunnels and communities under houses, and when they die, they stink up the house. If they ever got out of hand here, those rats wouldn't be able to adapt to 22 caliber bullets, they'd have to flee. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smallpackage Posted December 5, 2005 #7 Share Posted December 5, 2005 Another reason why we are legally allowed to own guns in the US. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yelekiah Posted December 5, 2005 #8 Share Posted December 5, 2005 note to self: stay out of Belfast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mixxingmark Posted December 5, 2005 #9 Share Posted December 5, 2005 Yeah some pics would be cool. How do they get so big? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richdog Posted December 5, 2005 #10 Share Posted December 5, 2005 Hmm sounds like mothers exagerrating to be honest... I wouldn't believe it till I saw it. Rats the size of cats? Hmm... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoonFox Posted December 5, 2005 #11 Share Posted December 5, 2005 Hmm sounds like mothers exagerrating to be honest... I wouldn't believe it till I saw it. Rats the size of cats? Hmm... Very possible. Women tend to (please don't take offense, I am a woman too...) but many women I know *do* exaggerate about things they fear. I personally like rodents, bugs, lizards, etc. that most women hate and wrongly fear. My mom and sister for one (or two...) if they see a spider the size of a quarter, they freak out and describe it as HUGE. And, like them, most other women I know react the same way to critters. Little garter snakes (like a foot long) have been described to me as 'Huge snakes that might eat my dog/cat'. So, yes, it's very possible that the size of the rat was exaggerated. Fear makes things seem alit scarier than they are. Attacking dogs... now rats (despite what many people think) are not vicious beasts. They are very intelligent, social creatures and won't attack unprovoked. If the *huge* rat attacked a dog, perhaps the dog had the rat cornered and the rat had to defend itself. (Any animal will defend itself. Doesn't make the animal aggressive. Sorry, but rats don't know that people like dogs better than them and fighting back will upset humans... The rat just knows 'if i dont try and fight back at this dog then I will be killed by it) Or maybe the rat was rabid which made it act abnormally. It is possible that some rats are getting bigger and more aggressive for whatever reason. But it's also very possible that it's exaggerations by people who's fear blinds them to what they're really seeing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ImAnAlienWa8iD Posted December 6, 2005 #12 Share Posted December 6, 2005 Another reason why we are legally allowed to own guns in the US. Alright, we wouldnt shoot them with 22's but maybe our airguns or sling shots. Yeah some pics would be cool. How do they get so big? What if radioactive waste products did it? Or the hormones found in most food humans eat - say for example if they [the rats] are eating more meat than anything else. I could imagine a good horror movie with this plot. Huge vicious cat like rats - evolved rodent killing machines with venom glands and glowing green eyes. < ^ This also, is what some mothers would tell the news reporters what she saw. Talk about exaggeration . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frogfish Posted December 6, 2005 #13 Share Posted December 6, 2005 clever little fella's, or should I say big? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverCougar Posted December 6, 2005 #14 Share Posted December 6, 2005 http://www.altpet.net/rodents/cricetomys/jo/jo3-98.jpg (pic's huge) Gambian Giant Pouched Rat Is a rather large rat, would you say? It's very easy for a colony to start if a few pets escape. They can easily be mistaken as the size of house cats... http://www.hoglezoo.org/animals/view.php?id=159 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LizFL Posted December 6, 2005 #15 Share Posted December 6, 2005 some pics I found of very large rats.... only one really comes close to the size of a cat, and I cant even tell if it's really a rat or not Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sneeze Posted December 6, 2005 #16 Share Posted December 6, 2005 Seems like the rats are evolving into something large do to their ability to adapt to the world we've made... I can see this happenning, even though I'm not a believer of Darwin's evolutionary theory. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smeagol1 Posted December 6, 2005 #17 Share Posted December 6, 2005 better get the crossbow and sword! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KaijuFan Posted December 6, 2005 #18 Share Posted December 6, 2005 Huge rats...wow. Imagin if they started to breed. Like someone has pointed out, it's thankful they're on an island. Still, if I saw one of them buggers around my house I'd grab the 12 gage...or Sting ~_^ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaKong Posted December 6, 2005 #19 Share Posted December 6, 2005 Freaky... Frank'n'Liz your rats look like really big mice lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrVelvet Posted December 7, 2005 #20 Share Posted December 7, 2005 When I was stationed in Italy back in the '80's (US Army), I swear I saw rats the size of small cats everyday crawling from the sewer. I don't know if it's the same way today, but it creeped me out... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daughter of the Nine Moons Posted December 7, 2005 #21 Share Posted December 7, 2005 note to self: stay out of Belfast. Ditto! some pics I found of very large rats.... only one really comes close to the size of a cat, and I cant even tell if it's really a rat or not Eww! Darn it Liz! You had to post pics didn't you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brawlerr Posted December 12, 2008 #22 Share Posted December 12, 2008 (edited) some pics I found of very large rats.... only one really comes close to the size of a cat, and I cant even tell if it's really a rat or not heres a good pic of the cat sized rats...was just watching something bout this on TV. http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSN2430572020070524 Edited December 12, 2008 by Brawlerr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nohands Posted December 13, 2008 #23 Share Posted December 13, 2008 (edited) if that rat loses its way to the philippines it will become a delicious food for all and that is not it its free!!! hehe we eat anything as long as it is edible....especially it is economic crisis here Edited December 13, 2008 by nohands Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leah G. Posted December 14, 2008 #24 Share Posted December 14, 2008 Oh yea, big rats! I saw a program on them in FL. Rats do attack, ask any kid in Chicago that has to live in the poor side of town! They do it with no provacation, to them you are food. They are like cockroaches, old, mean and ugly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
louie Posted December 14, 2008 #25 Share Posted December 14, 2008 Dont woory they have a way of dealing with rats in Belfast. lol.lol.lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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