While creepy stories about giant sewer rats have been used for decades by cartoonists, horror writers, and New York City parents whose kids have a propensity to hang out in empty subway stations, most of us never really believed those stories would ever come true. Just like the (awesome) Ninja Turtles, (equally awesome) Master Splinter is nothing more than an urban legend…right?
Enter Mr. Xian (sources suggest that he is unemployed and without a first name), the proud new owner of a six-pound bamboo rat, complete with a 12-inch tail. Xian found the rat scurrying around on a crowded street in Fuzhou, China—apparently the world’s most terrifyingly unsanitary city—and snatched it up bareback, hoping to make a quick buck. No word on whether this is a world record; bamboo rats of comparable size have been documented in the past (they can grow up to 30 inches long). However, it’s—thankfully—rare to find them walking around in broad daylight.
Somewhere in Hollywood, M Night Shyamalan is kicking himself for doing all his animal casting for “Lady in the Water” stateside. The rats here don’t work half as hard as they do in China!
