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Nutria or Wharf Rat? Anonymous
Are the much-hyped 'giant rats' in several major cities (Montreal, New York, etc) nutria/coypu or Norwegian/wharf rats? They're always sighted near bodies of water whether they be rivers or sewers.

I've never seen such rodents myself, so I can't say, and if I show people who HAVE seen them pictures of either they can't remember which it looked most like.

I'm assuming they're wharf rats, but someone I know swears up and down that they're nutria (which prefer water so it's not a long shot).

Pic related, it's a nutria/coypu.
>> Anonymous
They're just brown rats that are usually over-exaggerated in size. Yes, they're larger compared to rats in rural areas, but they're not dog-sized. Nutria are seen in the city limits of a lot of southern cities but most people mistake them for beavers rather than actual rats.

I think most of it is because people compare them to the much tinier mouse, so brown rats just seem extremely large. People also tend to measure from nosetip to tailtip instead of just body-length.

On a related note OP might find interesting, a couple years ago, some actual giant rats (Cricetomys gambianus) were jumping out of an abandoned car and biting people in a city in Africa.
>> Anonymous
How about some capybaras?
>> Anonymous
harbor rats tend to be quite a bit bigger than normal land rats. I remember once when i was young, I thought I saw an otter swimming by the boat at night but my father corrected me saying it was a rat. the fucker must as been at least a foot and a half long.
>> Anonymous
>>284614
Wharf rats are indeed giants.
>> Anonymous
Even the brown rats people keep as pets can get as big as a smallish cat. The males tend to grow very large given a proper food supply.
>> Anonymous
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>>284498

Cricetomys gambianus..fuck, I want one!!
>> Anonymous
>>284746
ITS SO BIG AND FAT AND SQUISHY!I WANT ONE TO SIT ON MY LAP ALL DAY!!!!!