10 Pound Rats?

"Not like City Rats"

Ever heard of 8 to 9 pounds rats? Ever heard of rats that are big as cats? Well this is the recent news down in the Florida Keys when it comes to the new African Gambian rats. These roaming creatures are the latest visitors to the grassy area and the Wildlife officials say they are not wanted there. Officials are now installing traps laced with peanut butter and almond extract to lure the rats in for the killing. Apparently Florida wildlife is concerned that these big rats will endanger crops and the well being of other animals that are in their presence.

These Gambian rats are often considered as good pets in Africa as some are trained to even sniff out land mines. According to the reports, these Gambian rats were once in the possession of a pet breeder until they escaped. Since then they have been reproducing like crazy and spreading through out the bush land in Florida. No one knows how they got there but news reports say that in Florida and Hawaii animals of this kind are popping up everywhere as of late. Further proof of unusual animals that have been spotted would be the 8 foot python snake that made an appearance just outside of the grasslands in Florida in April. Although Florida Wildlife say's these rats will bring more hawks and bald eagles within the area to feast, its still not guaranteed that they would all be gone. Once snacking on the traps full of bait, it's probably more likely that the rats would die in underground burrows as opposed to the surface.

Over a two year period, Florida wildlife says they will set traps and do test so they can wipe out these rotund Gambian rats. The male Gambian rat is known for its fierce aggressiveness as the females are known for their large litters of babies. The real mystery still remains, why's this the only place in the U.S. that these rats are located? The climate of Florida has brought numerous species to the state within the last 10 years. With reports of these creatures carrying diseases, the Gambian rat was banned by the U.S. disease control back in 2003 after an alleged monkey pox broke out when it was linked to a sick prairie dog out in Missouri.