The African rodent known as the Giant Gambian pouch rats, have hit
Florida's grassy keys, despite efforts to eradicate them.

http://www.breitbart.com/Breitbart-TV/2012/03/27/Killer-Cat-Sized-Rats-Invade-Florida

Yikes

On 2012-03-28, Oren wrote:
The African rodent known as the Giant Gambian pouch rats, have hit
Florida's grassy keys, despite efforts to eradicate them.

There is NO effort, only dept of wildlife/game control-freaks waving
their hands while loudly decrying the problem. There would be NO
problem if the state put a bounty on the damn vermin and allowed open
season. The damn things would be extinct in a week. But, noooooo!
That would be too easy. Friggin' dolts.

nb

--
Fight internet CENSORSHIP - Fight SOPA-PIPA
Contact your congressman and/or representative, now!
http://projects.propublica.org/sopa/
vi --the heart of evil!

notbob wrote:
On 2012-03-28, Oren wrote:
The African rodent known as the Giant Gambian pouch rats, have hit
Florida's grassy keys, despite efforts to eradicate them.

There is NO effort, only dept of wildlife/game control-freaks waving
their hands while loudly decrying the problem. There would be NO
problem if the state put a bounty on the damn vermin and allowed open
season. The damn things would be extinct in a week. But, noooooo!
That would be too easy. Friggin' dolts.


A great military leader once said: "The penis is mightier than the sword,"
by which he meant that the enemy can breed faster than you can kill them.

Louisiana has a bounty on nutria tails and no closed season. There are still
plenty of nutria.

On Tue, 27 Mar 2012 17:30:33 -0700, Oren wrote:

The African rodent known as the Giant Gambian pouch rats, have hit
Florida's grassy keys, despite efforts to eradicate them.

http://www.breitbart.com/Breitbart-TV/2012/03/27/Killer-Cat-Sized-Rats-Invade-Florida

Yikes



Once when I was a college student, I was taking the #7 train in Queens
coming home and around the old Shea Stadium the corner of my eye
caught near the edge of a oily small body of water, an animal the size
of a large cat. I realized what I saw was I think a water rat (it was
no cat) and it was huge. I was probably 50+ feet elevated above the
water but it was big enough to catch the corner of my eye so I know it
was huge. I never could believe a rat could be so large.... scary.

Since the state is paying out per unit, there is no motive to make them
extinct, and shut off the cash flow.

Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..

"HeyBub" wrote in message
m...

A great military leader once said: "The penis is mightier than the sword,"
by which he meant that the enemy can breed faster than you can kill them.

Louisiana has a bounty on nutria tails and no closed season. There are still
plenty of nutria.

On Wed, 28 Mar 2012 06:21:49 -0500, "Doug"
wrote:

On Tue, 27 Mar 2012 17:30:33 -0700, Oren wrote:

The African rodent known as the Giant Gambian pouch rats, have hit
Florida's grassy keys, despite efforts to eradicate them.

http://www.breitbart.com/Breitbart-TV/2012/03/27/Killer-Cat-Sized-Rats-Invade-Florida

Yikes



Once when I was a college student, I was taking the #7 train in Queens
coming home and around the old Shea Stadium the corner of my eye
caught near the edge of a oily small body of water, an animal the size
of a large cat. I realized what I saw was I think a water rat (it was
no cat) and it was huge. I was probably 50+ feet elevated above the
water but it was big enough to catch the corner of my eye so I know it
was huge. I never could believe a rat could be so large.... scary.

That oily small body of water is the Flushing River, cleaned up a bit
now but probably still polluted enough to mutate a giant rat.

On Wed, 28 Mar 2012 09:14:36 -0400, dgk wrote:

On Wed, 28 Mar 2012 06:21:49 -0500, "Doug"
wrote:

On Tue, 27 Mar 2012 17:30:33 -0700, Oren wrote:

The African rodent known as the Giant Gambian pouch rats, have hit
Florida's grassy keys, despite efforts to eradicate them.

http://www.breitbart.com/Breitbart-TV/2012/03/27/Killer-Cat-Sized-Rats-Invade-Florida

Yikes



Once when I was a college student, I was taking the #7 train in Queens
coming home and around the old Shea Stadium the corner of my eye
caught near the edge of a oily small body of water, an animal the size
of a large cat. I realized what I saw was I think a water rat (it was
no cat) and it was huge. I was probably 50+ feet elevated above the
water but it was big enough to catch the corner of my eye so I know it
was huge. I never could believe a rat could be so large.... scary.

That oily small body of water is the Flushing River, cleaned up a bit
now but probably still polluted enough to mutate a giant rat.

The aforementioned Gambian Pouch rats have been showing up in Brooklyn
the last couple years. But that many years ago I'd put my money on
a muskrat. 5-6 pounds wouldn't be unheard of- and they are a couple
feet long, but *look* bigger.

Jim

On Wed, 28 Mar 2012 09:14:36 -0400, dgk wrote:

On Wed, 28 Mar 2012 06:21:49 -0500, "Doug"
wrote:

On Tue, 27 Mar 2012 17:30:33 -0700, Oren wrote:

The African rodent known as the Giant Gambian pouch rats, have hit
Florida's grassy keys, despite efforts to eradicate them.

http://www.breitbart.com/Breitbart-TV/2012/03/27/Killer-Cat-Sized-Rats-Invade-Florida

Yikes



Once when I was a college student, I was taking the #7 train in Queens
coming home and around the old Shea Stadium the corner of my eye
caught near the edge of a oily small body of water, an animal the size
of a large cat. I realized what I saw was I think a water rat (it was
no cat) and it was huge. I was probably 50+ feet elevated above the
water but it was big enough to catch the corner of my eye so I know it
was huge. I never could believe a rat could be so large.... scary.

That oily small body of water is the Flushing River, cleaned up a bit
now but probably still polluted enough to mutate a giant rat.


That's right :-)

On Wed, 28 Mar 2012 10:32:41 -0400, Jim Elbrecht
wrote:

On Wed, 28 Mar 2012 09:14:36 -0400, dgk wrote:

On Wed, 28 Mar 2012 06:21:49 -0500, "Doug"
wrote:

On Tue, 27 Mar 2012 17:30:33 -0700, Oren wrote:

The African rodent known as the Giant Gambian pouch rats, have hit
Florida's grassy keys, despite efforts to eradicate them.

http://www.breitbart.com/Breitbart-TV/2012/03/27/Killer-Cat-Sized-Rats-Invade-Florida

Yikes



Once when I was a college student, I was taking the #7 train in Queens
coming home and around the old Shea Stadium the corner of my eye
caught near the edge of a oily small body of water, an animal the size
of a large cat. I realized what I saw was I think a water rat (it was
no cat) and it was huge. I was probably 50+ feet elevated above the
water but it was big enough to catch the corner of my eye so I know it
was huge. I never could believe a rat could be so large.... scary.

That oily small body of water is the Flushing River, cleaned up a bit
now but probably still polluted enough to mutate a giant rat.

The aforementioned Gambian Pouch rats have been showing up in Brooklyn
the last couple years. But that many years ago I'd put my money on
a muskrat. 5-6 pounds wouldn't be unheard of- and they are a couple
feet long, but *look* bigger.

Jim


I don't think this was a muskrat because it was a lot bigger looking.
It was twice or more as round as a cat, longer than a cat and had at
least a foot long tail like a rat. It had to be big to catch the
corner of my eye so high above and then I did stare straight down at
it to try to judge how large before the train moved along. I'm just
glad I didn't have to see it face to face.

"Doug" writes:

On Wed, 28 Mar 2012 10:32:41 -0400, Jim Elbrecht
wrote:

On Wed, 28 Mar 2012 09:14:36 -0400, dgk wrote:

On Wed, 28 Mar 2012 06:21:49 -0500, "Doug"
wrote:

On Tue, 27 Mar 2012 17:30:33 -0700, Oren wrote:

The African rodent known as the Giant Gambian pouch rats, have hit
Florida's grassy keys, despite efforts to eradicate them.

http://www.breitbart.com/Breitbart-TV/2012/03/27/Killer-Cat-Sized-Rats-Invade-Florida

Yikes



Once when I was a college student, I was taking the #7 train in Queens
coming home and around the old Shea Stadium the corner of my eye
caught near the edge of a oily small body of water, an animal the size
of a large cat. I realized what I saw was I think a water rat (it was
no cat) and it was huge. I was probably 50+ feet elevated above the
water but it was big enough to catch the corner of my eye so I know it
was huge. I never could believe a rat could be so large.... scary.

That oily small body of water is the Flushing River, cleaned up a bit
now but probably still polluted enough to mutate a giant rat.

The aforementioned Gambian Pouch rats have been showing up in Brooklyn
the last couple years. But that many years ago I'd put my money on
a muskrat. 5-6 pounds wouldn't be unheard of- and they are a couple
feet long, but *look* bigger.

Jim

I don't think this was a muskrat because it was a lot bigger looking.
It was twice or more as round as a cat, longer than a cat and had at
least a foot long tail like a rat. It had to be big to catch the
corner of my eye so high above and then I did stare straight down at
it to try to judge how large before the train moved along. I'm just
glad I didn't have to see it face to face.

Big with a tail like a rat is an Opossum.

--
Dan Espen

On 3/28/2012 7:21 AM, Doug wrote:
On Tue, 27 Mar 2012 17:30:33 -0700, wrote:

The African rodent known as the Giant Gambian pouch rats, have hit
Florida's grassy keys, despite efforts to eradicate them.

http://www.breitbart.com/Breitbart-TV/2012/03/27/Killer-Cat-Sized-Rats-Invade-Florida

Yikes



Once when I was a college student, I was taking the #7 train in Queens
coming home and around the old Shea Stadium the corner of my eye
caught near the edge of a oily small body of water, an animal the size
of a large cat. I realized what I saw was I think a water rat (it was
no cat) and it was huge. I was probably 50+ feet elevated above the
water but it was big enough to catch the corner of my eye so I know it
was huge. I never could believe a rat could be so large.... scary.

What I thought were big rats turned out to be possums.

http://www.aaanimalcontrol.com/profe...ofopossums.htm

On Wed, 28 Mar 2012 13:02:20 -0400, Dan Espen
wrote:

"Doug" writes:

On Wed, 28 Mar 2012 10:32:41 -0400, Jim Elbrecht
wrote:

On Wed, 28 Mar 2012 09:14:36 -0400, dgk wrote:

On Wed, 28 Mar 2012 06:21:49 -0500, "Doug"
wrote:

On Tue, 27 Mar 2012 17:30:33 -0700, Oren wrote:

The African rodent known as the Giant Gambian pouch rats, have hit
Florida's grassy keys, despite efforts to eradicate them.

http://www.breitbart.com/Breitbart-TV/2012/03/27/Killer-Cat-Sized-Rats-Invade-Florida

Yikes



Once when I was a college student, I was taking the #7 train in Queens
coming home and around the old Shea Stadium the corner of my eye
caught near the edge of a oily small body of water, an animal the size
of a large cat. I realized what I saw was I think a water rat (it was
no cat) and it was huge. I was probably 50+ feet elevated above the
water but it was big enough to catch the corner of my eye so I know it
was huge. I never could believe a rat could be so large.... scary.

That oily small body of water is the Flushing River, cleaned up a bit
now but probably still polluted enough to mutate a giant rat.

The aforementioned Gambian Pouch rats have been showing up in Brooklyn
the last couple years. But that many years ago I'd put my money on
a muskrat. 5-6 pounds wouldn't be unheard of- and they are a couple
feet long, but *look* bigger.

Jim

I don't think this was a muskrat because it was a lot bigger looking.
It was twice or more as round as a cat, longer than a cat and had at
least a foot long tail like a rat. It had to be big to catch the
corner of my eye so high above and then I did stare straight down at
it to try to judge how large before the train moved along. I'm just
glad I didn't have to see it face to face.

Big with a tail like a rat is an Opossum.


No, this was much larger. I once had a possum mom and her litter in
my garage so I got closeup to them minus the mom. Matter of fact when
I had animal control come, he told me the only reason I probably got
this close to the little ones was because the mom probably got killed
before returning. I remember them snarling at the guy but he had
heavy gloves on. Most were in a box except one or two that he had to
chase around my garage but he caught them too. I asked what they did
with them and he said release them near a river bank. Not sure tho
these would make it being so young looking??? Anyway, since I saw
possums up close, I know this rat I saw was much larger. It had to be
the size of a medium dog at least based on all accounts I can remember
sizing it up.

On Wed, 28 Mar 2012 14:20:53 -0400, Frank
wrote:

On 3/28/2012 7:21 AM, Doug wrote:
On Tue, 27 Mar 2012 17:30:33 -0700, wrote:

The African rodent known as the Giant Gambian pouch rats, have hit
Florida's grassy keys, despite efforts to eradicate them.

http://www.breitbart.com/Breitbart-TV/2012/03/27/Killer-Cat-Sized-Rats-Invade-Florida

Yikes



Once when I was a college student, I was taking the #7 train in Queens
coming home and around the old Shea Stadium the corner of my eye
caught near the edge of a oily small body of water, an animal the size
of a large cat. I realized what I saw was I think a water rat (it was
no cat) and it was huge. I was probably 50+ feet elevated above the
water but it was big enough to catch the corner of my eye so I know it
was huge. I never could believe a rat could be so large.... scary.

What I thought were big rats turned out to be possums.

http://www.aaanimalcontrol.com/profe...ofopossums.htm


See my previous post about possums. Also I may be wrong but I don't
think NYC (Queens) has possums but they sure have lots of rats

On Wed, 28 Mar 2012 13:55:14 -0500, "Doug"
wrote:

On Wed, 28 Mar 2012 13:02:20 -0400, Dan Espen
wrote:

"Doug" writes:

On Wed, 28 Mar 2012 10:32:41 -0400, Jim Elbrecht
wrote:

On Wed, 28 Mar 2012 09:14:36 -0400, dgk wrote:

On Wed, 28 Mar 2012 06:21:49 -0500, "Doug"
wrote:

On Tue, 27 Mar 2012 17:30:33 -0700, Oren wrote:

The African rodent known as the Giant Gambian pouch rats, have hit
Florida's grassy keys, despite efforts to eradicate them.

http://www.breitbart.com/Breitbart-TV/2012/03/27/Killer-Cat-Sized-Rats-Invade-Florida

Yikes



Once when I was a college student, I was taking the #7 train in Queens
coming home and around the old Shea Stadium the corner of my eye
caught near the edge of a oily small body of water, an animal the size
of a large cat. I realized what I saw was I think a water rat (it was
no cat) and it was huge. I was probably 50+ feet elevated above the
water but it was big enough to catch the corner of my eye so I know it
was huge. I never could believe a rat could be so large.... scary.

That oily small body of water is the Flushing River, cleaned up a bit
now but probably still polluted enough to mutate a giant rat.

The aforementioned Gambian Pouch rats have been showing up in Brooklyn
the last couple years. But that many years ago I'd put my money on
a muskrat. 5-6 pounds wouldn't be unheard of- and they are a couple
feet long, but *look* bigger.

Jim

I don't think this was a muskrat because it was a lot bigger looking.
It was twice or more as round as a cat, longer than a cat and had at
least a foot long tail like a rat. It had to be big to catch the
corner of my eye so high above and then I did stare straight down at
it to try to judge how large before the train moved along. I'm just
glad I didn't have to see it face to face.

Big with a tail like a rat is an Opossum.


No, this was much larger. I once had a possum mom and her litter in
my garage so I got closeup to them minus the mom. Matter of fact when
I had animal control come, he told me the only reason I probably got
this close to the little ones was because the mom probably got killed
before returning. I remember them snarling at the guy but he had
heavy gloves on. Most were in a box except one or two that he had to
chase around my garage but he caught them too. I asked what they did
with them and he said release them near a river bank. Not sure tho
these would make it being so young looking??? Anyway, since I saw
possums up close, I know this rat I saw was much larger. It had to be
the size of a medium dog at least based on all accounts I can remember
sizing it up.


I seem to faintly recall some calling large rats = sewer rats because
they eat well and undisturbed in NYC sewers for years. I wish I had
taken a picture of it but this was before digital cameras and besides
I was a poor college student then in a subway with no reason for a
camera.

On 3/28/2012 2:57 PM, Doug wrote:
On Wed, 28 Mar 2012 14:20:53 -0400, Frank
wrote:

On 3/28/2012 7:21 AM, Doug wrote:
On Tue, 27 Mar 2012 17:30:33 -0700, wrote:

The African rodent known as the Giant Gambian pouch rats, have hit
Florida's grassy keys, despite efforts to eradicate them.

http://www.breitbart.com/Breitbart-TV/2012/03/27/Killer-Cat-Sized-Rats-Invade-Florida

Yikes



Once when I was a college student, I was taking the #7 train in Queens
coming home and around the old Shea Stadium the corner of my eye
caught near the edge of a oily small body of water, an animal the size
of a large cat. I realized what I saw was I think a water rat (it was
no cat) and it was huge. I was probably 50+ feet elevated above the
water but it was big enough to catch the corner of my eye so I know it
was huge. I never could believe a rat could be so large.... scary.

What I thought were big rats turned out to be possums.

http://www.aaanimalcontrol.com/profe...ofopossums.htm


See my previous post about possums. Also I may be wrong but I don't
think NYC (Queens) has possums but they sure have lots of rats

Saw it going through thread after posting. I know I made this mistake
when I was younger thinking they were big rats.

On Tue, 27 Mar 2012 17:30:33 -0700, Oren wrote:

The African rodent known as the Giant Gambian pouch rats, have hit
Florida's grassy keys, despite efforts to eradicate them.

http://www.breitbart.com/Breitbart-TV/2012/03/27/Killer-Cat-Sized-Rats-Invade-Florida

Yikes

Ooops. My bad. Because of the subject line of this thread I thought
it may be a discussion about the Black Panthers, Al Sharpton and other
radical racists stirring up trouble in Florida before all of the facts
are gathered. And they call us racist!

"Doug" wrote:

On Wed, 28 Mar 2012 14:20:53 -0400, Frank
wrote:

-snip-
What I thought were big rats turned out to be possums.

http://www.aaanimalcontrol.com/profe...ofopossums.htm


See my previous post about possums. Also I may be wrong but I don't
think NYC (Queens) has possums but they sure have lots of rats


does the D-Train go to Queens?
http://www.wpix.com/news/wpix-opposs...,2828861.story

That's a small-medium sized possum. I've seen them at least twice
that size. Corner them and they'll double that.g

Jim

On Wed, 28 Mar 2012 16:36:08 -0400, Jim Elbrecht
wrote:

"Doug" wrote:

On Wed, 28 Mar 2012 14:20:53 -0400, Frank
wrote:

-snip-
What I thought were big rats turned out to be possums.

http://www.aaanimalcontrol.com/profe...ofopossums.htm


See my previous post about possums. Also I may be wrong but I don't
think NYC (Queens) has possums but they sure have lots of rats


does the D-Train go to Queens?
http://www.wpix.com/news/wpix-opposs...,2828861.story

That's a small-medium sized possum. I've seen them at least twice
that size. Corner them and they'll double that.g

Jim


Jim I don't remember. I'd have to check a subway map. I was on the
#7 IRT subway then which was elevated over the water when I spotted
this rodent. BTW, interesting story !! I saw a link to a 3 foot
long rat so as everyone can see, I'm not making this stuff up. NYC
rats or the like can grow BIG .

Oren wrote in
:

The African rodent known as the Giant Gambian pouch rats, have hit
Florida's grassy keys, despite efforts to eradicate them.

http://www.breitbart.com/Breitbart-T...Cat-Sized-Rats
-Invade-Florida

Yikes


At first I though it was a talking rat. Then I saw that the rat is on the
left.

"Doug" wrote in
:

On Wed, 28 Mar 2012 13:55:14 -0500, "Doug"
wrote:

On Wed, 28 Mar 2012 13:02:20 -0400, Dan Espen
wrote:

"Doug" writes:

On Wed, 28 Mar 2012 10:32:41 -0400, Jim Elbrecht
wrote:

On Wed, 28 Mar 2012 09:14:36 -0400, dgk wrote:

On Wed, 28 Mar 2012 06:21:49 -0500, "Doug"
wrote:

On Tue, 27 Mar 2012 17:30:33 -0700, Oren wrote:

The African rodent known as the Giant Gambian pouch rats, have
hit Florida's grassy keys, despite efforts to eradicate them.

http://www.breitbart.com/Breitbart-T...iller-Cat-Size
d-Rats-Invade-Florida

Yikes



Once when I was a college student, I was taking the #7 train in
Queens coming home and around the old Shea Stadium the corner of
my eye caught near the edge of a oily small body of water, an
animal the size of a large cat. I realized what I saw was I
think a water rat (it was no cat) and it was huge. I was
probably 50+ feet elevated above the water but it was big enough
to catch the corner of my eye so I know it was huge. I never
could believe a rat could be so large.... scary.

That oily small body of water is the Flushing River, cleaned up a
bit now but probably still polluted enough to mutate a giant rat.

The aforementioned Gambian Pouch rats have been showing up in
Brooklyn the last couple years. But that many years ago I'd put
my money on a muskrat. 5-6 pounds wouldn't be unheard of- and
they are a couple feet long, but *look* bigger.

Jim

I don't think this was a muskrat because it was a lot bigger
looking. It was twice or more as round as a cat, longer than a cat
and had at least a foot long tail like a rat. It had to be big to
catch the corner of my eye so high above and then I did stare
straight down at it to try to judge how large before the train
moved along. I'm just glad I didn't have to see it face to face.

Big with a tail like a rat is an Opossum.


No, this was much larger. I once had a possum mom and her litter in
my garage so I got closeup to them minus the mom. Matter of fact when
I had animal control come, he told me the only reason I probably got
this close to the little ones was because the mom probably got killed
before returning. I remember them snarling at the guy but he had
heavy gloves on. Most were in a box except one or two that he had to
chase around my garage but he caught them too. I asked what they did
with them and he said release them near a river bank. Not sure tho
these would make it being so young looking??? Anyway, since I saw
possums up close, I know this rat I saw was much larger. It had to be
the size of a medium dog at least based on all accounts I can remember
sizing it up.


I seem to faintly recall some calling large rats = sewer rats because
they eat well and undisturbed in NYC sewers for years. I wish I had
taken a picture of it but this was before digital cameras and besides
I was a poor college student then in a subway with no reason for a
camera.

There's a lotta large rats in DC that eat well and are undisturbed.

Dress the Florida rats in hoodies, and give Zimmerman back his gun?

Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..

On Wed, 28 Mar 2012 14:20:53 -0400, Frank
wrote:

What I thought were big rats turned out to be possums.

http://www.aaanimalcontrol.com/profe...ofopossums.htm

This is a common problem. They look a lot like rats. Personally, I'd
rather encounter and opossum than a rat.

On Wed, 28 Mar 2012 23:28:37 +0000 (UTC), Red Green
wrote:

There's a lotta large rats in DC that eat well and are undisturbed.

Yea, but most of them live in the Whitehouse and disguise themselves as
elephants or donkeys!!!

They really do eat well though!!!!

"Jim Elbrecht" wrote in message
...
"Doug" wrote:

On Wed, 28 Mar 2012 14:20:53 -0400, Frank
wrote:

-snip-
What I thought were big rats turned out to be possums.


http://www.aaanimalcontrol.com/profe...tridofopossums.
htm


See my previous post about possums. Also I may be wrong but I don't
think NYC (Queens) has possums but they sure have lots of rats


does the D-Train go to Queens?

http://www.wpix.com/news/wpix-opposs...,2828861.story

That's a small-medium sized possum. I've seen them at least twice
that size. Corner them and they'll double that.g

Jim

Any possum living in NYC near the subway is going to end up looking pretty
black, too. I'm thinking Doug saw a possum. But I probably should go to the
NYC Health Dep't site . . .

OK, maybe it WAS a rat. There's no shortage of hits for "largest rat ever
found in NYC."

http://i.mediatakeout.com/photo/1314362412big_rat.jpg

http://cdn.mediatakeout.com/50702/sh...ize-of-it.html

--
Bobby G.

On Fri, 30 Mar 2012 00:27:03 -0400, "Robert Green"
wrote:

"Jim Elbrecht" wrote in message
.. .
"Doug" wrote:

On Wed, 28 Mar 2012 14:20:53 -0400, Frank
wrote:

-snip-
What I thought were big rats turned out to be possums.


http://www.aaanimalcontrol.com/profe...tridofopossums.
htm


See my previous post about possums. Also I may be wrong but I don't
think NYC (Queens) has possums but they sure have lots of rats


does the D-Train go to Queens?

http://www.wpix.com/news/wpix-opposs...,2828861.story

That's a small-medium sized possum. I've seen them at least twice
that size. Corner them and they'll double that.g

Jim

Any possum living in NYC near the subway is going to end up looking pretty
black, too. I'm thinking Doug saw a possum. But I probably should go to the
NYC Health Dep't site . . .

OK, maybe it WAS a rat. There's no shortage of hits for "largest rat ever
found in NYC."

http://i.mediatakeout.com/photo/1314362412big_rat.jpg

http://cdn.mediatakeout.com/50702/sh...ize-of-it.html


Robert, you're right. I'll never know either what it was but as I
recall, it was large, well at least the size of a medium dog and it
was kinda blackish in color. The color tho was probably because it
was near a very oily body of water then. I remember thinking why it
would try to eat along side a very oily body of water. The water then
was so badly polluted.

On Wed, 28 Mar 2012 13:57:27 -0500, "Doug"
wrote:

On Wed, 28 Mar 2012 14:20:53 -0400, Frank
wrote:

On 3/28/2012 7:21 AM, Doug wrote:
On Tue, 27 Mar 2012 17:30:33 -0700, wrote:

The African rodent known as the Giant Gambian pouch rats, have hit
Florida's grassy keys, despite efforts to eradicate them.

http://www.breitbart.com/Breitbart-TV/2012/03/27/Killer-Cat-Sized-Rats-Invade-Florida

Yikes



Once when I was a college student, I was taking the #7 train in Queens
coming home and around the old Shea Stadium the corner of my eye
caught near the edge of a oily small body of water, an animal the size
of a large cat. I realized what I saw was I think a water rat (it was
no cat) and it was huge. I was probably 50+ feet elevated above the
water but it was big enough to catch the corner of my eye so I know it
was huge. I never could believe a rat could be so large.... scary.

What I thought were big rats turned out to be possums.

http://www.aaanimalcontrol.com/profe...ofopossums.htm


See my previous post about possums. Also I may be wrong but I don't
think NYC (Queens) has possums but they sure have lots of rats

Oh, but Flushing does have possums - quite a few in fact. At least a
few times a year I see one. I have my backyard fenced-in so my cats
can't get out, and during the summer a few years back one of them
marched into the house with a baby possum in his mouth. I thought it
was dead but I picked it up with a paper towel and it moved, so I let
it go in my neighbor's groundcover.

I don't know why people would want them gone though; I checked up on
them after I first saw one in the yard. They eat all kinds of grubs
and bugs that you don't want in your yard, and their body temperature
is too low to share disease with other animals and humans so no rabies
and such. If they had fur on that tail they'd be cute.

I was very worried about that first possum since I was concerned that
it would attack my cats, but I spoke to a trapper who said that they
get along just fine with cats and that the possum would move on in a
day or two anyway so just leave it alone. And it was good advice, I've
seen possums in my yard while the cats were back there and they just
ignore each other. And that fence may stop my cats from getting out
but the possum can hang upside down just fine so they can get out.

We also have raccoons though, and that's an entirely different matter.
Cute, smart, and destructive. I've heard that a lot of damage done by
raccoons is blamed on possums because you see the possum but not the
raccoon.

I have a cat house in the front of my house for the use of a few
outdoor cats (we've had them all fixed), and a raccoon wandered into
one last week! I was just leaving for work (it was just getting light)
and it walked right in. It left when it got dark and hasn't come back.
I had banged on the side of the house (styrofoam) and generally made
it uncomfortable so it wouldn't come back and so far it hasn't. Small
one, probably just learning the area.

On Wed, 28 Mar 2012 15:07:57 -0500, Gordon Shumway
wrote:

On Tue, 27 Mar 2012 17:30:33 -0700, Oren wrote:

The African rodent known as the Giant Gambian pouch rats, have hit
Florida's grassy keys, despite efforts to eradicate them.

http://www.breitbart.com/Breitbart-TV/2012/03/27/Killer-Cat-Sized-Rats-Invade-Florida

Yikes

Ooops. My bad. Because of the subject line of this thread I thought
it may be a discussion about the Black Panthers, Al Sharpton and other
radical racists stirring up trouble in Florida before all of the facts
are gathered. And they call us racist!

I don't know much about the case, but I'd be willing to bet that if
the kid was white he wouldn't have struck the neighborhood watch guy
as being suspicious. Just a guess.

We do have a lot of racism in this country. If folks over-react
sometimes, I understand why.

"dgk" wrote in message
...

That oily small body of water is the Flushing River, cleaned up a bit
now but probably still polluted enough to mutate a giant rat.

There's more than a little irony in the name "Flushing River."

--
Bobby G.

"Doug" wrote in message

stuff snipped

Any possum living in NYC near the subway is going to end up looking
pretty
black, too. I'm thinking Doug saw a possum. But I probably should go to
the
NYC Health Dep't site . . .

OK, maybe it WAS a rat. There's no shortage of hits for "largest rat
ever
found in NYC."

http://i.mediatakeout.com/photo/1314362412big_rat.jpg


http://cdn.mediatakeout.com/50702/sh...ide-brooklyn-h
ousing-project-you-ain-t-gonna-believe-the-size-of-it.html


Robert, you're right. I'll never know either what it was but as I
recall, it was large, well at least the size of a medium dog and it
was kinda blackish in color. The color tho was probably because it
was near a very oily body of water then. I remember thinking why it
would try to eat along side a very oily body of water. The water then
was so badly polluted.

After scanning through a number of sites that claimed to have pictures of
the city's largest rat, I think it's very likely you did see a giant rat. I
really had no idea how bigs rats in NYC actually got until I went looking.

However, that area's close enough to the airport that any number of
non-native animals could have escaped and made their way to where you saw
them. I know around the Miami airport there are thousands of animals that
have escaped from air cargo that aren't native to Florida that cause a lot
of trouble for the native species and local animal control.

When I lived in the restaurant district in DC, I once heard something
scuttling under the bed. I grabbed a flashlight and looked under to see a
cockroach as large as mouse, just waddling across the floor. I couldn't
believe that it was so big I could actually hear it moving around. It was
like that scene from Aliens where the Marine lifts up a suspended ceiling
panel for a look and sees giant bug-like aliens. I moved out shortly after.

--
Bobby G.

"dgk" wrote in message

stuff snipped

If they had fur on that tail they'd be cute.

Until they open their mouths. Just like people, in a way! (-:

We also have raccoons though, and that's an entirely different matter.
Cute, smart, and destructive. I've heard that a lot of damage done by
raccoons is blamed on possums because you see the possum but not the
raccoon.

I left the sunroof to my car open a crack one day. It got thoroughly
"tossed" by possums who open then glovebox, ransacked it, pulled up the
floor mats and sprayed some sort of raccoon funk smell that lasted about 7
years. Everytime it was hot and humid, the raccoon stink would start up
again. There was a whole raccoon family living in the nearby storm drain.
I was out running early one morning and watch as mom and the kits spilled
out of the sewer in a single file line and began their rounds of the
neighborhood garbage cans.

I have a cat house in the front of my house for the use of a few
outdoor cats (we've had them all fixed), and a raccoon wandered into
one last week! I was just leaving for work (it was just getting light)
and it walked right in. It left when it got dark and hasn't come back.
I had banged on the side of the house (styrofoam) and generally made
it uncomfortable so it wouldn't come back and so far it hasn't. Small
one, probably just learning the area.

Someone in the Computer Home Automation group had built an electronic cat
door that used a video camera and a PC to examine the silhouette of the
animal trying to get into the "airlock" type double-doored entry. He posted
the photos on his website of animals other than cats that had tried to
enter. You could see the very unique nose of a raccoon trying to get in
through the cat door. There were also birds, the snout of a vary large dog
and some other oddities in the photo. I believe he abandoned that method
and went to a magnetic collar because while it blocked raccoons and other
animals, it allowed *any* cat into the house.

--
Bobby G.

On Sat, 31 Mar 2012 05:33:12 -0400, "Robert Green"
wrote:

"Doug" wrote in message

stuff snipped

Any possum living in NYC near the subway is going to end up looking
pretty
black, too. I'm thinking Doug saw a possum. But I probably should go to
the
NYC Health Dep't site . . .

OK, maybe it WAS a rat. There's no shortage of hits for "largest rat
ever
found in NYC."

http://i.mediatakeout.com/photo/1314362412big_rat.jpg


http://cdn.mediatakeout.com/50702/sh...ide-brooklyn-h
ousing-project-you-ain-t-gonna-believe-the-size-of-it.html


Robert, you're right. I'll never know either what it was but as I
recall, it was large, well at least the size of a medium dog and it
was kinda blackish in color. The color tho was probably because it
was near a very oily body of water then. I remember thinking why it
would try to eat along side a very oily body of water. The water then
was so badly polluted.

After scanning through a number of sites that claimed to have pictures of
the city's largest rat, I think it's very likely you did see a giant rat. I
really had no idea how bigs rats in NYC actually got until I went looking.

However, that area's close enough to the airport that any number of
non-native animals could have escaped and made their way to where you saw
them. I know around the Miami airport there are thousands of animals that
have escaped from air cargo that aren't native to Florida that cause a lot
of trouble for the native species and local animal control.

When I lived in the restaurant district in DC, I once heard something
scuttling under the bed. I grabbed a flashlight and looked under to see a
cockroach as large as mouse, just waddling across the floor. I couldn't
believe that it was so big I could actually hear it moving around. It was
like that scene from Aliens where the Marine lifts up a suspended ceiling
panel for a look and sees giant bug-like aliens. I moved out shortly after.


You reminded me of when I was walking thru a tunnel at CCNY (NYC) and
I saw a dead cockroach. I never saw one so large. I remember it had
to be at least 3 to 4 inches long... big. I have never seen one
since anything close to that size but I don't live in NYC nowadays. I
guess around certain areas where these rodents or insects are well
hidden and feed well, they can grow extra large. This seems obvious
from your story and mine.

On Sat, 31 Mar 2012 05:33:12 -0400, "Robert Green"
wrote:

"Doug" wrote in message

stuff snipped

Any possum living in NYC near the subway is going to end up looking
pretty
black, too. I'm thinking Doug saw a possum. But I probably should go to
the
NYC Health Dep't site . . .

OK, maybe it WAS a rat. There's no shortage of hits for "largest rat
ever
found in NYC."

http://i.mediatakeout.com/photo/1314362412big_rat.jpg


http://cdn.mediatakeout.com/50702/sh...ide-brooklyn-h
ousing-project-you-ain-t-gonna-believe-the-size-of-it.html


Robert, you're right. I'll never know either what it was but as I
recall, it was large, well at least the size of a medium dog and it
was kinda blackish in color. The color tho was probably because it
was near a very oily body of water then. I remember thinking why it
would try to eat along side a very oily body of water. The water then
was so badly polluted.


Most likely a Nutria.

After scanning through a number of sites that claimed to have pictures of
the city's largest rat, I think it's very likely you did see a giant rat. I
really had no idea how bigs rats in NYC actually got until I went looking.

However, that area's close enough to the airport that any number of
non-native animals could have escaped and made their way to where you saw
them. I know around the Miami airport there are thousands of animals that
have escaped from air cargo that aren't native to Florida that cause a lot
of trouble for the native species and local animal control.

When I lived in the restaurant district in DC, I once heard something
scuttling under the bed. I grabbed a flashlight and looked under to see a
cockroach as large as mouse, just waddling across the floor. I couldn't
believe that it was so big I could actually hear it moving around. It was
like that scene from Aliens where the Marine lifts up a suspended ceiling
panel for a look and sees giant bug-like aliens. I moved out shortly after.

"Doug" wrote in message

stuff snipped

When I lived in the restaurant district in DC, I once heard something
scuttling under the bed. I grabbed a flashlight and looked under to see
a
cockroach as large as mouse, just waddling across the floor. I couldn't
believe that it was so big I could actually hear it moving around. It
was
like that scene from Aliens where the Marine lifts up a suspended ceiling
panel for a look and sees giant bug-like aliens. I moved out shortly
after.


You reminded me of when I was walking thru a tunnel at CCNY (NYC) and
I saw a dead cockroach. I never saw one so large. I remember it had
to be at least 3 to 4 inches long... big. I have never seen one
since anything close to that size but I don't live in NYC nowadays. I
guess around certain areas where these rodents or insects are well
hidden and feed well, they can grow extra large. This seems obvious
from your story and mine.

Dad was a CCNY grad. (-: I recall hearing a health inspector say just what
you did. With places to hide and a steady food supply both roaches and rats
can grow to be pretty disturbingly big. Places like Georgetown, DC have
buildings over 200 years old and many of the first floors of those places
have been restaurants for 50 years or more. I just read they found a
beached whale with a harpoon in it from the 1800's. I wonder what the
maximum span of a cockroach is? Is there one running around in the walls of
Fraunces' Tavern in NYC or the Old Stone House in DC whose father was
stepped on by Thomas Jefferson? (-:

I remember visiting a girlfriend who lived in a 4 story walkup in Brooklyn
in the '70's. I got up to get a drink of water late at night and when I
turned on the bathroom light, all the spots on the wallpaper suddenly
started moving. They weren't really spots, just dozens of cockroaches,
fleeing from the light. I have never seen so many before or since, except
on Mike Rowe's "Dirty Jobs" program about sewer maintenance workers.

--
Bobby G.

"The Daring Dufas" wrote in message
...
On 3/31/2012 9:34 PM, Robert Green wrote:

stuff snipped

"I am my own police" Philip Raven (Alan Ladd) in "This Gun For Hire"
1942
--
Bobby G.

I can't help wondering what would be the reaction if the hoodie kid had
been killed by a police officer. Would there be any world wide circus?

Probably not. But I really doubt a well-trained police officer would have
ended up shooting anyone under those circumstances. The cops I knew (mostly
in big metro dept's) loathed shooting people only because the paperwork and
departmental hearings never ended. (-: Now nightsticking - that's a whole
different story. The guy that was trying to rob my neighbor's home that I
temporarily blinded with my 2M CP spotlight tried to resist arrest when the
cops came. They went at him like kids at a pinata.

I refuse to judge either of the individuals involved because I wasn't
there and I refuse to believe anyone until the official investigation is
concluded.

That's a novel approach. Half the people here have tried and convicted
Zimmerman, the other half have exonerated him. I suspect the truth, as
always, lies somewhere in between.

There is a possibility that a grand jury could fail to indict
the neighborhood watch vigilante and perhaps by then, the whole TRUE
story will come out? I can't imagine how I'd feel if someone were to
kill one of my young friends, especially one of them I've known since
they were infants.

I agree. I remember all the "facts" that came out during the OJ circus that
turned out to be completely false. While it's a good idea to have
discussions during the investigation to help make sure "all bases are
covered" until that investigation is complete, most people are grasping at
straws.

You're right in that this is a tragedy for everyone. Zimmerman's not dead
like his victim is, but his life is now irrevocably changed. My feeling is
that he'll be looking over his shoulder for the rest of his life.
Vigilantism begets yet more vigilantism. With all the gated communities
popping up across the country, it seems we're returning to the days of
castles and feudalism.

I think the silver lining to this incident will be that a lot of
neighborhood watches will closely review their policies about their watchmen
training and their being armed. In my area, neighborhood watch members are
clearly identified as such and carry radios to talk directly to police
dispatchers. They do not carry weapons but many carry cameras to document
suspicious cars, people and activity. I wonder whether Zimmerman was
identifiable as a neighborhood watch member? I guess we'll find out
eventually.

--
Bobby G.

On 4/1/2012 10:35 AM, Robert Green wrote:
"The Daring wrote in message
...
On 3/31/2012 9:34 PM, Robert Green wrote:

stuff snipped

"I am my own police" Philip Raven (Alan Ladd) in "This Gun For Hire"
1942
--
Bobby G.

I can't help wondering what would be the reaction if the hoodie kid had
been killed by a police officer. Would there be any world wide circus?

Probably not. But I really doubt a well-trained police officer would have
ended up shooting anyone under those circumstances. The cops I knew (mostly
in big metro dept's) loathed shooting people only because the paperwork and
departmental hearings never ended. (-: Now nightsticking - that's a whole
different story. The guy that was trying to rob my neighbor's home that I
temporarily blinded with my 2M CP spotlight tried to resist arrest when the
cops came. They went at him like kids at a pinata.

I refuse to judge either of the individuals involved because I wasn't
there and I refuse to believe anyone until the official investigation is
concluded.

That's a novel approach. Half the people here have tried and convicted
Zimmerman, the other half have exonerated him. I suspect the truth, as
always, lies somewhere in between.

There is a possibility that a grand jury could fail to indict
the neighborhood watch vigilante and perhaps by then, the whole TRUE
story will come out? I can't imagine how I'd feel if someone were to
kill one of my young friends, especially one of them I've known since
they were infants.

I agree. I remember all the "facts" that came out during the OJ circus that
turned out to be completely false. While it's a good idea to have
discussions during the investigation to help make sure "all bases are
covered" until that investigation is complete, most people are grasping at
straws.

You're right in that this is a tragedy for everyone. Zimmerman's not dead
like his victim is, but his life is now irrevocably changed. My feeling is
that he'll be looking over his shoulder for the rest of his life.
Vigilantism begets yet more vigilantism. With all the gated communities
popping up across the country, it seems we're returning to the days of
castles and feudalism.

I think the silver lining to this incident will be that a lot of
neighborhood watches will closely review their policies about their watchmen
training and their being armed. In my area, neighborhood watch members are
clearly identified as such and carry radios to talk directly to police
dispatchers. They do not carry weapons but many carry cameras to document
suspicious cars, people and activity. I wonder whether Zimmerman was
identifiable as a neighborhood watch member? I guess we'll find out
eventually.

--
Bobby G.



I've been robbed at gunpoint by little Black angels who disappeared into
a nearby housing project after getting my wallet and cellphone.
I could have done something but I couldn't take the chance of getting
injured which would have put me out of business. If I'd been armed, I
would not have hesitated to aim for the mouth of the armed dobad and
perform a double tap. Darn, I miss my NATO issue Browning Hi Power. o_O

TDD

On Wed, 28 Mar 2012 09:09:43 -0700 (PDT), harry
wrote:

BTW, How many cats have they killed, or did you invent that bit?

WTF are you talking about? Nothing above suggest a cat killed
anything.

harry is a week later....

"Oren" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 28 Mar 2012 09:09:43 -0700 (PDT), harry
wrote:

BTW, How many cats have they killed, or did you invent that bit?

WTF are you talking about? Nothing above suggest a cat killed
anything.

harry is a week later....

harry is always at least a week late
Even when he arrives early.

On Sun, 1 Apr 2012 09:13:07 -0400, "Robert Green"
wrote:

"Doug" wrote in message

stuff snipped

When I lived in the restaurant district in DC, I once heard something
scuttling under the bed. I grabbed a flashlight and looked under to see
a
cockroach as large as mouse, just waddling across the floor. I couldn't
believe that it was so big I could actually hear it moving around. It
was
like that scene from Aliens where the Marine lifts up a suspended ceiling
panel for a look and sees giant bug-like aliens. I moved out shortly
after.


You reminded me of when I was walking thru a tunnel at CCNY (NYC) and
I saw a dead cockroach. I never saw one so large. I remember it had
to be at least 3 to 4 inches long... big. I have never seen one
since anything close to that size but I don't live in NYC nowadays. I
guess around certain areas where these rodents or insects are well
hidden and feed well, they can grow extra large. This seems obvious
from your story and mine.

Dad was a CCNY grad. (-: I recall hearing a health inspector say just what


Didn't think anyone would know about CCNY g but nice to hear that.
I didn't walk the CCNY tunnels often and other than that dead roach,
never saw any rats tho it would seem like a good place for them
especially at nite. I could only imagine based on what we saw, what
the other creatures look like that we did NOT see g.

On Sat, 31 Mar 2012 05:19:16 -0400, "Robert Green"
wrote:

"dgk" wrote in message
.. .

That oily small body of water is the Flushing River, cleaned up a bit
now but probably still polluted enough to mutate a giant rat.

There's more than a little irony in the name "Flushing River."


Good Point g !!!!

On Tue, 03 Apr 2012 06:27:16 -0500, "Doug"
wrote:

On Sun, 1 Apr 2012 09:13:07 -0400, "Robert Green"
wrote:

"Doug" wrote in message

stuff snipped

When I lived in the restaurant district in DC, I once heard something
scuttling under the bed. I grabbed a flashlight and looked under to see
a
cockroach as large as mouse, just waddling across the floor. I couldn't
believe that it was so big I could actually hear it moving around. It
was
like that scene from Aliens where the Marine lifts up a suspended ceiling
panel for a look and sees giant bug-like aliens. I moved out shortly
after.


You reminded me of when I was walking thru a tunnel at CCNY (NYC) and
I saw a dead cockroach. I never saw one so large. I remember it had
to be at least 3 to 4 inches long... big. I have never seen one
since anything close to that size but I don't live in NYC nowadays. I
guess around certain areas where these rodents or insects are well
hidden and feed well, they can grow extra large. This seems obvious
from your story and mine.

Dad was a CCNY grad. (-: I recall hearing a health inspector say just what


Didn't think anyone would know about CCNY g but nice to hear that.
I didn't walk the CCNY tunnels often and other than that dead roach,
never saw any rats tho it would seem like a good place for them
especially at nite. I could only imagine based on what we saw, what
the other creatures look like that we did NOT see g.

Waterbugs (American Cockroach) can get pretty big, but 3-4 inches
would be too big for them. They do seem larger though, since they're
just so digusting. Ech. We get one or two (they seem to travel in
pairs!) every few months. They come up from the shower drain I think.
Luckily, one of my cats specializes in removing the wings from
waterbugs. Then she carries it around in her mouth making a very
interesting vocalization, sort of like Errrh Errh Errh. I hear that
noise and I can be pretty sure that Marlo has a bug. Eventually it
ends up dead somewhere.