Iran battles plague of 'genetically mutated' giant rats

[DeSwiss]

2013-03-01 02:38:50 GMT2013-03-01 10:38:50(Beijing Time) SINA.com


(Photo:agencies)(Photo:agencies)

Tehran, the capital of Iran, is battling an invasion of "genetically mutated" giant rats. Iran has sent in sniper teams to clear Tehran's streets from the massive rodents weighting up to five kilos plaguing 26 district of the Iranian capital, the city's environmental agency said.

"They seem to have had a genetic mutation, probably as a result of radiations and the chemical used on them," Ismail Kahram, Teheran city council environment adviser and university professor Ismail Kahram told Qudsonline.ir.

"They are now bigger and look different. These are changes that normally take millions of years of evolution. They have jumped from 60 grams to five kilos, and cats are now smaller than them."

The "mutated rats" have been running rampant in the capital, as cats are scared off by their giant size and traditional poison appear to have no effect on them. To stop them storming of restaurants' backyards and scavenging public waste containers, the council has deployed ten snipers teams armed with infra-red sighted rifles.

http://english.sina.com/world/p/2013/0228/566711.html

- LIBOR, the Big Cheat exposed. World's oldest bank (1472), downgraded to junk status. Abdication of Queen 'Old money' Beatrix of the Netherlands. Investigation of Queen Elizabeth's palace spending by Parliament. Spanish Prince under indictment. Resignation of the Pope, Vatican hit by lightning the same night. Meteorite slams into Russia. 21 volcanoes erupting worldwide in the past two weeks. Plagues of locusts in Egypt, on their way to Israel. And now, mutant rats in Iran.

That, I did not see coming.

[Scootaloo]

1. Well, that's a lovely picture of a 100% normal (if rather decomposed) rat

And the notion of a ten pound rat is just... ludicrous. As is the idea of a sixty-gram rat (which would be tiny)

Soooo... fake, I say.

[freshwest]

3. Shucks, that Iranian rat ain't got nothin' on us. Check the American version:

Nutria weigh an average of 12.0 pounds (5.4 kg).

http://nutria.com/site.php

Like so many other swell money-making ideas, it seemed like a good idea at the time.

We're #1! We're #1! We're #1!

[Scootaloo]

4. But it's not a rat! It's not even related

It's a hystricomorph, rats are myomorphs. it's like calling a ferret a type of dachshund

Also I hear they're tasty.

[freshwest]

5. Looks like more of a rat than the OP... Just sayin'

With all due respect, sure, meat is meat, but I wouldn't eat one, oh, no. I mean, really, people get freaked out when they see those things with their big teeth. They don't care what the official bio-geek definition is.

'Look Ethel, it's a giant RAT! Get my gun!'



I blame Romney for those Iranian critturs. And think it's all a cover-up for some nefarious something. That's the reason why he wanted to go all McInsane and bomb, bomb, bomb Iran.

Not all genetic experiments go well...



And you can always count on me to 'go there.'

[Scootaloo]

15. Naw, the pic is just a literal drowned rat

Next time you hear that expression? Now you know what it references

It's male, too, just in case you needed a little more nightmare fuel.

[TheMastersNemesis]

2. THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS EVOLUTION - IT'S ONLY A THEORY - GOD CREATED THE RAT "POOF".

[pinboy3niner]

6. Has anyone seen Willard around lately? I wonder where he is...

[Hekate]

7. Nah, my grandpa told me tales of wharf rats the size of terriers

Some species of rats can get mighty big.

What they need to do is bring in that guy with the flute -- just don't forget to pay him though!

[Are_grits_groceries]

14. I've seen some wharf rats.

Some look like they could pull sleds.

[GaYellowDawg]

8. Iran's had a plague of giant rats for decades.

They're called fundamentalist clerics.

[OldDem2012]

16. We've got our problems with fundamentalists, too. nt.

[GaYellowDawg]

20. You think?

Nothing worse than a fundamentalist with power.

[JI7]

9. what is worse ? rats or big ass cockroaches ?

why can't they go extinct ?

[area51]

10. Are we sure it's not the fabled Giant Rat of Sumatra? j/k, n/t

[HereSince1628]

19. Could also be a Gambian Pouched Rat

They've been of interest to hobbiests in several countries

And there was a teevee story about them being trained to locate land mines.

[Tyrs WolfDaemon]

11. Please, everyone knows the one shown is a baby ROUS

(Rodents Of Unusual Size) and that soon the Iranians will be jumping around to avoid the fire spouts just like in the Princess Bride movie.

[muriel_volestrangler]

12. "He's like a little puppy"

The Mallomys giant rat of New Guinea turns out to be a cuddly and friendly thing: http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_8210000/8210394.stm

[eShirl]

13. more likely an already existing giant rat, like the Gambian Pouched Rat

[Codeine]

17. That's a normal-sized rat.

I've had rats as pets; that's a biggish rat, but well within normal limits. Idiotic excuse for a story.

[RebelOne]

22. That is definitely not a normal-sized rat.

I had a problem with rats last winter because a field being cleared behind me drove them all into my house. I had to hire an exterminator, and he killed 18 rats. None of them were anywhere near that big.

[Codeine]

24. I've probably raised a half-dozen rats that big.

A well-fed rat can get pretty sizable. A rat scrounging in a field or competing for kitchen scraps with a few dozen others is likely to be a bit more petite.

[Javaman]

18. Meh, looks like an average NYC wharf rat. nt

[WilliamPitt]

21. Thanks, Obama.

[Berlum]

23. Mutant Planet, Inc. (R - Occult Plot)

Freaking RepubliWankers, internationalSTyle, and their gawdforsaken Genetically Mutant crapola degeneracy...Enuf to make one bLOW MutantChunks.