[Moviefan]

Not goods new if you are scared off Rats!

Giant rats, the size of cows or even bigger, could one day fill a ‘significant chunk’ of Earth’s emptying ecospace.
The terrifying scenario could become a reality as super-adaptable rats take advantage of larger mammals becoming extinct, an expert predicts.
‘Animals will evolve, over time, into whatever designs will enable them to survive and to produce offspring,’ said geologist Dr Jan Zalasiewicz, from the University of Leicester.

For instance, in the Cretaceous Period, when the dinosaurs lived, there were mammals, but these were very small, rat and mouse-sized, because dinosaurs occupied the larger ecological niches.

Only once the dinosaurs were out of the way did these tiny mammals evolve into many different forms.
‘Given enough time, rats could probably grow to be at least as large as the capybara, the world’s largest rodent, that lives today, that can reach 80 kilos (17lb).
‘If the ecospace was sufficiently empty, then they could get larger still.’
The largest extinct rodent known, Josephoartegasia monesi, which lived three million years ago, was larger than a bull and weighed over a tonne.
Like its modern-day relative, the sheep-sized capybara, it lived in South America.
A hint of the nightmare to come can be seen on ‘rat islands’ - isolated regions where rats introduced by humans have quickly risen to become the dominant species.


Rat islands act as a ‘laboratory’ for studying the future evolution of the rodents, according to Dr Zalasiewicz.
‘Rats are one of the best examples of a species that we have helped spread around the world, and that have successfully adapted to many of the new environments that they found themselves in,’ he said.
‘They are now on many, if not most, islands around the world - and once there, have proved extraordinarily hard to eradicate.

They’re often there for good, essentially. Once there, they have out-competed many native species and at times have driven them to extinction.
‘As a result, ecospace is being emptied, and rats are in a good position to re-fill a significant chunk of it, in the mid to far geological future.’
Gigantism is a well-known evolutionary response that occurs when a small creature steps into an ecological niche left by a larger species.
Fifty million years ago, a distant ancestor of the blue whale was the size of a wolf, Dr Zalasiewicz pointed out.
He expected rats to adapt in a host of other ways, besides some of them growing to a large size

‘Animals can evolve to smaller as well as larger sizes,’ he said. ‘This will depend on what particular circumstances they find themselves in and what the selective pressures on them are.
‘Each island that rats are now present on is in effect a laboratory of future evolution, and each will produce different results.
‘So there will be future thin rats, future fat rats, slow and heavy rats, fast and ferocious rats, probably future aquatic rats - the list goes on.
‘Other animals will likely follow the same pattern, such as domestic cats, rabbits, goats and more.;
He suspects that rats will have a major influence on the geological future of the Earth and over time were likely to produce ‘some remarkable descendants’.

I saw this few years back!
http://news.sky.com/story/800483/mon...housing-estate


Now I feel like reading The Rats by James Herbert!
Which was made in a movie called deadly eyes Full movie on youtube!

[Nedusa]

Wow... If rats are going to be as big as Cows then... What the hell size will Cows be ??

[Joelle.]

If this happens, I may have to move to the moon. Rats are the one thing I can't handle *shudders*

[smudgie]

Time to cull the beggars then.

[Josy]

Where is that pied piper guy when you need him

[Kyle]

Looks like the guy who wrote planet of the apes hedged his bets on the wrong animal

[Jake.]

What are they going to use for IAC now?

[Z]

Originally Posted by Josy

Where is that pied piper guy when you need him

Got arrested in Operation Yewtree for leading all those kids away from their parents

If rats do eventually evolve into a larger size, it will take longer than the span of a human life, so I don't think anyone needs to panic just yet. It's also unlikely that could happen in any place inhabited by humans, as they'd be a danger to our survival in those instances. We'd wipe them out before that could ever happen.

[thesheriff443]

fat rats competion for the fat cats.

[chuff me dizzy]

Originally Posted by Juan_Sheet

If this happens, I may have to move to the moon. Rats are the one thing I can't handle *shudders*

Im terrified of them and mice

[Livia]

Serious debates, eh?

You won't be saying that when you get one under your floorboards.

[Livia]

Originally Posted by Jesus.

You won't be saying that when you get one under your floorboards.

By that time my cat will be the size of a Clydesdale, so I'm okay with it.

[arista]

Originally Posted by Livia

Serious debates, eh?

yes they are getting bigger in South America
but Man is always above animals
from way back after the Planet went dark
and the Big animals all died

Apart from all the animals that are bigger than man?

[smeagol]

Good title made me laugh

There are already man sized rats . here a rat there a rat everywhere a doity rat

At least kebabs will get bigger.

[arista]

Originally Posted by Jesus.

Apart from all the animals that are bigger than man?

you are sadly wrong

This is so tragic
Loads of Elephants were shot dead or half dead
by Helicopter Hunters with Machine guns
in Africa.
Just to get their horns.


So You are So Wrong
Man is Above Animals
in Every FECKING way.

[arista]

No Animal has a Machine Gun
to fire back

So machine guns are above every animal, including us?

[Livia]

I'm pretty sure that the human race will wipe itself out long before the rats get as big as cows. Frankly I'm surprised we've lasted this long.

[arista]

Originally Posted by Jesus.

So machine guns are above every animal, including us?

No Only Men
can use machine Guns


Animals can not


You have much to Learn
like in Africa
Evil Helicopter Men Hunters Kill all animals they want to


Also in the water
nothing is safe

Originally Posted by arista

No Only Men
can use machine Guns


Animals can not


You have much to Learn
like in Africa
Evil Helicopter Men Hunters Kill all animals they want to


Also in the water
nothing is safe

Only because they haven't received the correct training as of yet.

[arista]

Originally Posted by Livia

I'm pretty sure that the human race will wipe itself out long before the rats get as big as cows. Frankly I'm surprised we've lasted this long.

Yes
and the people with Bunkers will be the New World