Now its Rats

Jay Beattie said:

Ran over a giant rat yesterday -- actually I missed it, and the guy I
was riding with ran it over. A nice change from squirrels. They're
slower, but they don't change direction. This happened in a forested
area, so I don't think it was anyone's pet. -- Jay Beattie.

Dear Jay,

Judging by my memories of the Pacific Northwest, there's a good chance
that your "giant rat" may have been an introduced oppossum.

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

Rodents Of Unusual Size? I don't think they exist.

Jay Beattie said:

Ran over a giant rat yesterday -- actually I missed it, and the guy I
was riding with ran it over. A nice change from squirrels. They're
slower, but they don't change direction. This happened in a forested
area, so I don't think it was anyone's pet. -- Jay Beattie.

Quoted message said:

Jay Beattie said:

Ran over a giant rat yesterday -- actually I missed it, and the guy I
was riding with ran it over. A nice change from squirrels. They're
slower, but they don't change direction. This happened in a forested
area, so I don't think it was anyone's pet. -- Jay Beattie.

Dear Jay,

Judging by my memories of the Pacific Northwest, there's a good chance
that your "giant rat" may have been an introduced oppossum.

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

Er, opossums come in two varieties, like camels. East of the
continental divide, their name has only one 'p', but when they cross
the Rockies they sometimes grow a second 'p' . . .

No, I don't think anyone's going to buy that excuse.

Anyway, opossums with one 'p' are prominent NorthWest roadkill:

"'Locally, opossums lead the pack when it comes to getting killed,'
said Kris Meyer, field supervisor for King County Animal Control.
'They're slow and have poor eyesight, relying instead on smell to get
around. When confronted with something they don't recognize, they tend
to open their mouth and glare.'"

"'That may have worked before vehicles — it doesn't work for them
now,'" said Jennifer Convy, rehabilitation manager for the Progressive
Animal Welfare Society in Lynnwood."

http://archives.seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/texis.cgi/web/vortex/display?slug=roadkill09m&date=20020609

More and more I wonder whether a spell-checker would be a sound
investment, but I'm slow, have poor eyesight, and tend to open my
mouth and glare when confronted with words whose spelling I've
forgotten.

Cheers,

Carl Foggel

Quoted message said:

On Sun, 16 Sep 2007 08:57:29 -0700, Jay Beattie

Quoted message said:

Ran over a giant rat yesterday -- actually I missed it, and the guy I
was riding with ran it over. A nice change from squirrels. They're
slower, but they don't change direction. This happened in a forested
area, so I don't think it was anyone's pet. -- Jay Beattie.

Dear Jay,

Judging by my memories of the Pacific Northwest, there's a good chance
that your "giant rat" may have been an introduced oppossum.

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

Nah, this was just an old rat -- possums don't move fast at all.
According to internet sources (always reliable), they only have a top
speed of 4mph. This accords with my personal experience -- although
every time I encounter a possum, it usually stops to snarl and hiss,
so its hard to judge top speed. This rat was much smaller than a
possum and really movin' -- although not fast enough.-- Jay Beattie..

Jay Beattie said:

Quoted message said:

On Sun, 16 Sep 2007 08:57:29 -0700, Jay Beattie

Quoted message said:

Ran over a giant rat yesterday -- actually I missed it, and the guy I
was riding with ran it over. A nice change from squirrels. They're
slower, but they don't change direction. This happened in a forested
area, so I don't think it was anyone's pet. -- Jay Beattie.

Dear Jay,

Judging by my memories of the Pacific Northwest, there's a good chance
that your "giant rat" may have been an introduced oppossum.

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

Nah, this was just an old rat -- possums don't move fast at all.
According to internet sources (always reliable), they only have a top
speed of 4mph. This accords with my personal experience -- although
every time I encounter a possum, it usually stops to snarl and hiss,
so its hard to judge top speed. This rat was much smaller than a
possum and really movin' -- although not fast enough.-- Jay Beattie..

Dear Jay,

Rats!

(Sorry, couldn't resist it.)

I thought that the world was not yet prepared for your story.

Cheers,

Matilda Briggs

In article <[email hidden]>,

Jay Beattie said:

Ran over a giant rat yesterday -- actually I missed it, and the guy I
was riding with ran it over. A nice change from squirrels. They're
slower, but they don't change direction. This happened in a forested
area, so I don't think it was anyone's pet. -- Jay Beattie.

Look out for the rats and the squirrels teaming up. If that happens, no
cyclist will be safe!

Per [email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

Judging by my memories of the Pacific Northwest, there's a good chance
that your "giant rat" may have been an introduced oppossum.

My bud in Camas WA used to call them "Washington Speed Bumps".
--
PeteCresswell

android said:

Rodents Of Unusual Size? I don't think they exist.

Tell that to my buddy who wrote off his Raleigh road bike (frame, fork,
wheel) hitting a ground hog.
They get 25 to 30lbs when well fed, a sizeable rodent.

Marcus

In article
<[email hidden]>,

Quoted message said:

"'Locally, opossums lead the pack when it comes to getting killed,'
said Kris Meyer, field supervisor for King County Animal Control.
'They're slow and have poor eyesight, relying instead on smell to get
around.

How can they get past their own stench?
Stinkiest critter I ever came across;
I mean outside of our high school locker room.

Quoted message said:

When confronted with something they don't recognize, they tend
to open their mouth and glare.'"

--
Michael Press

In article <[email hidden]>,

Michael Press said:

In article
<[email hidden]>,

Quoted message said:

"'Locally, opossums lead the pack when it comes to getting killed,'
said Kris Meyer, field supervisor for King County Animal Control.
'They're slow and have poor eyesight, relying instead on smell to get
around.

How can they get past their own stench?
Stinkiest critter I ever came across;
I mean outside of our high school locker room.

Never faced a skunk?

A few years ago, a pair of skunks got into some sort of domestic dispute
a block from my house. The smell lingered in the air for some hours...

--
Ryan Cousineau [email hidden] http://www.wiredcola.com/
"I don't want kids who are thinking about going into mathematics
to think that they have to take drugs to succeed." -Paul Erdos

In article
<[email hidden]>,

Ryan Cousineau said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

Michael Press said:

In article
<[email hidden]>,

Quoted message said:

"'Locally, opossums lead the pack when it comes to getting killed,'
said Kris Meyer, field supervisor for King County Animal Control.
'They're slow and have poor eyesight, relying instead on smell to get
around.

How can they get past their own stench?
Stinkiest critter I ever came across;
I mean outside of our high school locker room.

Never faced a skunk?

A few years ago, a pair of skunks got into some sort of domestic dispute
a block from my house. The smell lingered in the air for some hours...

A skunk sprays occasionally--in defense.
An opossum smells like the bottom of a rendering pot
all the time.

--
Michael Press

Michael Press said:

Ryan Cousineau <[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

Michael Press said:

How can they get past their own stench?
Stinkiest critter I ever came across;
I mean outside of our high school locker room.

Quoted message said:

Never faced a skunk?

Quoted message said:

A few years ago, a pair of skunks got into some sort of domestic dispute
a block from my house. The smell lingered in the air for some hours...

A skunk sprays occasionally--in defense.
An opossum smells like the bottom of a rendering pot
all the time.

I'll see your opossum and raise you a javelina
(a small, nasty, stinky peccary).

Ben

in rec.bicycles.tech Jay Beattie said:

Ran over a giant rat yesterday

Two points!

I got a dog with my SUV the other day.

Jones

"Jay Beattie" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Ran over a giant rat yesterday -- actually I missed it, and the guy I
was riding with ran it over. A nice change from squirrels. They're
slower, but they don't change direction. This happened in a forested
area, so I don't think it was anyone's pet. -- Jay Beattie.

I almost hit one on my bike in Alameda several weeks ago and I had one in
my house last week. There seems to be a growing rat problem in NorCal.

Can an outbreak of Yersinia pestis be far off?

Plague is endemic to NorCal and Southern Oregon as well as Northern New
Mexico and Arizona. In NorCal it's carried by ground squirrel and other
rodent fleas.

Chas.

<[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Jay Beattie said:

Ran over a giant rat yesterday -- actually I missed it, and the guy I
was riding with ran it over. A nice change from squirrels. They're
slower, but they don't change direction. This happened in a forested
area, so I don't think it was anyone's pet. -- Jay Beattie.

Dear Jay,

Judging by my memories of the Pacific Northwest, there's a good chance
that your "giant rat" may have been an introduced oppossum.

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

Er, opossums come in two varieties, like camels. East of the
continental divide, their name has only one 'p', but when they cross
the Rockies they sometimes grow a second 'p' . . .

No, I don't think anyone's going to buy that excuse.

Anyway, opossums with one 'p' are prominent NorthWest roadkill:

"'Locally, opossums lead the pack when it comes to getting killed,'
said Kris Meyer, field supervisor for King County Animal Control.
'They're slow and have poor eyesight, relying instead on smell to get
around. When confronted with something they don't recognize, they tend
to open their mouth and glare.'"

"'That may have worked before vehicles - it doesn't work for them
now,'" said Jennifer Convy, rehabilitation manager for the Progressive
Animal Welfare Society in Lynnwood."

http://archives.seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/texis.cgi/web/vortex/display?slug=roadkill09m&date=20020609

Quoted message said:

More and more I wonder whether a spell-checker would be a sound
investment, but I'm slow, have poor eyesight, and tend to open my
mouth and glare when confronted with words whose spelling I've
forgotten.

Cheers,

Carl Foggel

EAT MORE POSSUM.....

Chas.

"(PeteCresswell)" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Per [email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

Judging by my memories of the Pacific Northwest, there's a good chance
that your "giant rat" may have been an introduced oppossum.

My bud in Camas WA used to call them "Washington Speed Bumps".
--
PeteCresswell

Traveling from NE Texas through Arkansas the roads are littered with
armadillo carcasses.

Chas.

"android" <[email hidden]._c_o_m_> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Rodents Of Unusual Size? I don't think they exist.

Capybaras can grow to 145 Lbs.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capybara

Chas.

<[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

android said:

Rodents Of Unusual Size? I don't think they exist.

Tell that to my buddy who wrote off his Raleigh road bike (frame, fork,
wheel) hitting a ground hog.
They get 25 to 30lbs when well fed, a sizeable rodent.

Marcus

They taste good too!

Chas.

In article said:

How can they get past their own stench?
Stinkiest critter I ever came across;

I used to be a member of the Opossum Society of the US, and faithfully feed
the wild ones who visit each night. I've never noticed any unusual odor from
a possum, and I've held and handled them, unlike most folks here.

Maybe they're different here in Southern California.

Art