The Giant Rat nearly of Sumatra: at last the world is prepared

A giant rat, hitherto unknown to science, has been identified in Indonesia.  In a story right out of Sherlock Holmes* or Firesign Theater,

"The giant rat is about five times the size of a typical city rat," said Kristofer Helgen, a scientist with the Smithsonian Institution in Washington. "With no fear of humans, it apparently came into the camp several times during the trip."

And, speaking of real life imitating Gothic or pulp fiction, there's more:

A 2006 expedition to the same stretch of jungle - dubbed by Conservation International as a "Lost World" because until then humans had rarely visited it - unearthed scores of exotic new species of palms, butterflies and palms....
"It's comforting to know that there is a place on Earth so isolated that it remains the absolute realm of wild nature," said expedition leader Bruce Beehler. "We were pleased to see that this little piece of Eden remains as pristine and enchanting as it was when we first visited."

Cue ominous music...

*"Matilda Briggs was not the name of a young woman, Watson, . . . It was a ship which is associated with the giant rat of Sumatra, a story for which the world is not yet prepared."
(Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, "The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire", 1924)

Comments

[peter naegele]

Capybara?

[Stephanie]

OMG! A R.O.U.S (Rodent Of Unusual Size)!! And here I thought only the princess had to deal with these :-)

[Bryan Alexander]

peter, you're making me think of giant guinea pigs.

Indeed, Stephanie! Perhaps this one can go in the Zoo.