by Chris Bodenner
A reader writes:
Note that the Gambian rats are used as land-mine sniffers in Tanzania, and they are not truly "rats." It sounds like the likelihood of being able to bread with Norway rats is unlikely.
Another points to the below photo and writes,"To be fair, they are capable of cuteness." A reader familiar with the rats shares his experience:
Gambian pouched rats last shared a common ancestor with Norway rats about 25 to 30 million years ago. That's on par with our divergence from monkeys (not apes, monkeys). We are much closer relatives to orangutans and gorillas than those two
species of rodents are with each other. I've observed and captured Gambian pouched rats in the wild in West Africa and they usually seem to be eating something such as frogs or smaller rats. Admittedly the rats they were eating (soft-furred rats in the genus Praomys) were from a slightly smaller species than Norway rats, but I guarantee that if they are in New York and spending time with Norway rats, they aren't just looking for company.
Their presence is potentially bad news. There has been a population on Grassy Key off the coast of Florida for several years. A study in 2006 modeled their native ecology in Africa and looked for comparable habitat in North America. The authors concluded that if they got to the mainland, they could prosper along much of the Gulf Coast as well as in the Pacific Northwest. Most of the US (including New York) appears to be potential habitat thanks largely to its wetness, but it's mostly a matter of how the animals handle hard frost (moist habitat plus hard frost aren't a combination you find in their native Africa). We may find ourselves having to get used to rats the size of raccoons.
Another takes a detour from the science:
The post about the giant rats made me (and I am sure many others) think of this:
Fleas the size of rats sucked on rats the size of cats
And ten thousand peoploids split into small tribes
Coverting the highest of the sterile skyscrapers
Like packs of dogs assaulting the glass fronts of Love-Me Avenue
Ripping and rewrapping mink and shiny silver fox, now legwarmers
Family badge of sapphire and cracked emerald
Any day now The Year of the Diamond Dogs– David Bowie "Future Legend" (the first track on "Diamond Dogs", which any true Bowie fan knows is his best album.)
The Dish 