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Ratzilla Found in Stockholm

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B

Black Mamba

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_73843036_2dc91737-621b-40b9-9382-6bd45ef8744d.jpg


The appearance of a massive rat in a Stockholm family's kitchen has made headlines in Sweden, where it is being dubbed "Ratzilla".

Measuring 40cm (nearly 16in) plus tail, the creature terrified the family in Solna district.

Pest controllers finally killed the intruder using an oversized trap.

Even the family cat had refused to enter the kitchen while the giant rat was in residence, father Erik Korsas told BBC News.

It appears that it reached the kitchen via a ventilation pipe, having gnawed its way through cement and wood.

After devouring food leftovers under the sink, the creature feasted on a "Swedish smorgasbord" of waste in the bin, according to Mr Korsas.

The women of the house - mother Signe and daughters Dana and Erica, 17 and 15 respectively - took fright but his sons, 13-year-old Justus and six-year-old Laurentius, eventually proved themselves as genuine rat-hunters, he said.

It was the boys who investigated after the trap was sprung and the injured animal crawled away. It was they who brought him tools to help establish that it was well and truly dead.

Justus wielded the iPad which captured his father posing with the dead intruder.

'Mega rat'
The incident occurred three weeks ago and initially, after taking a few souvenir photos, the family thought no more about it.

But when they contacted Sweden's Home And Rent website to see if it was interested in the story, it rapidly scurried to the top of the country's news agenda, attracting the attention of reporters at newspapers including the English-language The Local.

On Tuesday, the "mega rat" became the most shared item for popular Swedish daily Aftonbladet, according to a tweet by journalist Sven Nordenstam.

Social media rang with gasps of disbelief, disgust and amusement. "Can't even read the news because there's a story about a giant rat on it," wrote one person. "I'd be moving on out of there," wrote another.

Laughing incredulously, Mr Korsas told the BBC that one reporter had said he should have frozen the rat's carcass for posterity.

He was dismayed at suggestions he had photo-shopped the whole thing. Not a penny, he stressed, was paid for any of the photos.

"What surprised me is people say they cannot even read the articles and cannot go to sleep because of this story," he told the BBC.

"The human race and rats have had a long relationship. We have gone hand in hand, both as enemies and friends."

Fly-catcher
Since the incident, the kitchen has been repaired and the family and its cat, Enok, have not been bothered by rats of any size. Nonetheless the family is "just waiting for the next rat to come home to us", Mr Korsas said.

The Stockholm rat weighed about a kilo (2.2lb), Mr Korsas believes. Despite regular media speculation, there appears to be little evidence of rats getting bigger in developed countries.

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

That said, any significant change would be a long way off.
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http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-26764929

I, for one, welcome our new mega-rat overlords.
 
D

Deleted member 13876

Unconfirmed Member
Now everyone google the term "rat king".
 
G

.GqueB.

Banned
That's one of the worst things I've seen in a while. If I saw that shit in my house I'd likely move to another country
 
D

Deleted member 13876

Unconfirmed Member
Fine, if no one's doing it.

Rat kings are phenomena said to arise when a number of rats become intertwined at their tails, which become stuck together with blood, dirt, ice, feces or simply knotted. The animals reputedly grow together while joined at the tails. The numbers of rats that are joined together can vary, but rat kings formed naturally from a large number of rats are rarer. The phenomenon is particularly associated with Germany, where the majority of instances have been reported.
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Wag

Wag

Member
That's a baby compared to the sewer rats that I saw as a kid hanging out by the rocks by the Whitestone Bridge, NYC.
 
D

daxgame

Member
Even the family cat had refused to enter the kitchen while the giant rat was in residence, father Erik Korsas told BBC News.
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Hahaha. Shows who's (was) the boss in the town.
But those photos :(, poor thing.
 
S

StalkerUKCG

Banned
I understand that it was in someone's home and causing issues but couldnt they catch and release something that large into the wilderness?
 
J

Jacobi

Banned
Deified Data said:
Poor guy.

I have three rats and love them like children. They're the smartest, most affectionate pets I've ever had.
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These ones aren't fucking FOURTY centimeters though. They'd bite your dick off if they could. Ratzillas could be humanity's Nr. 1 threat.
 
O

OldKentuckyShark

Member
Those fools! That was a messenger from the rat overlords and their massive army of super rats who inhabit the earths core. They were seeking peaceful contact but since they killed the messenger this'll mean war.
 
K

KillerMan91

Member
Even the family cat had refused to enter the kitchen while the giant rat was in residence, father Erik Korsas told BBC News.
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Dem city cats. Our old cat that lived in the countryside hunted even snakes.
 
M

michaelius

Banned
StalkerUKCG said:
I understand that it was in someone's home and causing issues but couldnt they catch and release something that large into the wilderness?
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So it can ruin natural ecosystem even more ? Wild rats are extremly agressive animals so the damage it could do to birds and other small animals would be huge.
 
D

Deified Data

Banned
Lovely Salsa said:
this little fella wants your company

naked-mole-rat-431x300.jpg
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Not technically a rat. ;)

Supremely fascinating creatures though. The only mammalian species with a eusocial society (i.e. a queen "rat" with multitudes of workers and warriors, like ants). No pain receptors in their skin. Blood that soaks up oxygen so they can survive for absurdly long lengths of time without air. A metabolic rate that can be reduced during lean times.

Hypothetically speaking if I were a mad scientist breeding a single species for super-sized growth and world domination, it'd be the naked mole rat.
 
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