African Pouched Rats also have sensitive noses and can be trained like dogs to detect explosive vapours. The Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining examines aspects of the use of rodent detection as part of the dog project
There have long been urban legends about rats "the size of cats" roaming the sewers of New York, but we're betting few people have seen anything the size of this bamboo rat (left) that was recently caught in the Chinese city of Fuzhou.
The beast weighs in at a full six pounds with a 12-inch tail. The man who caught it, Mr. Xian, swooped in after seeing a crowd of people around it in the street. He says he grabbed the rodent because he thought it might be valuable.
While rats served in fast food wrappers would cause alarm in the U.S., these types of bamboo rats are often sold as meat in China. News reports don't specify where this monster is going to end up, but we're going to guess that there's a major feast coming for Mr. Xian and his family.
While the Sumatran bamboo rat can grow up to 30 inches long, the largest rats in the world are thought to be African giant pouched rats, which can get even bigger. Shudder at a picture of the hefty rodent and read about deadly animal attacks after the jump.
