Rat-Squirrel Discovered.

[madinmaryland]

http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/science/03/09/species.survivor.ap/index.html

WASHINGTON (AP) -- It has the face of a rat and the tail of a skinny squirrel -- and scientists say this creature discovered living in central Laos is pretty special: It's a species believed to have been extinct for 11 million years.

The long-whiskered rodent made international headlines last spring when biologists declared they'd discovered a new species, nicknamed the Laotian rock rat.

..snip

[graywarrior]

1. Why does this SO appeal to me.

Rat squirrel. There's a story including Bush/Cheney in there.

[Orsino]

4. I know which is which.

It's obvious.

[central scrutinizer]

9. no, that would be rat-weasel

or hyena-skunk

[Renew Deal]

2. Have you ever had braised rat-squirrel?

:9

[madinmaryland]

3. I prefer it stir fried!

mmmmm!!

[ET Awful]

5. I'd call it a squirrel-rat instead, that way we can name it Squat!

:P

[madinmaryland]

6. I like Squirt better!

BTW, Althea looks alot like our Panda!

:hi:

[ET Awful]

11. Hehehehe

Either way works for me.

As to Althea, she's just the lovin'est cat I've ever had. She's not really a lap cat, but she LOVES to curl up under the covers and sleep with you. She'll purr all night long.

[madinmaryland]

12. Our panda is still a kitten,

and is a total spaz. This is his first spring and the being able to go out on the deck is getting him all amped up.

[ET Awful]

19. So where are the pictures?

:P

[LibertyLover]

7. Is it just me

or does that animal look a little like Scrat from "Ice Age"?

[GoddessOfGuinness]

31. Scrat looked like a tree shrew to me...

[LostinVA]

8. I call squirrels "tree rats" anyway, so this is appropriate!

[graywarrior]

10. I call pigeons rats with wings

[LostinVA]

13. That's what both of them are! But... the WORST thing?

I FEED THE DAMNED SQUIRRELS!!!!!! Because my furbabies are inside kitties, but they love to watch the birds and squirrels. It's like Their soaps or Dr. Phil.... so, I feed rats.

Damn Beatrix Potter! If it wasn't for Squirrel Nutkin!!!

[graywarrior]

14. Beeeeatrix!!

My cat thinks squirrels are from the otherworld. The squirrels talk about my cat right in front of him. They can be rude. Baby squireels are cute.

[LostinVA]

15. One of the little devils climbs on the screen door

and "chatters" in at the cats. They go bonkers!

they also love the deer. They make their little chirping noises and skulk toward the window, like they can take down a full grown deer! They are soooo cute....

[graywarrior]

24. My cat thinks he's a watch dog.

If he hears a car door slam, or strange voices outside on the street, he runs to the window and glares, neck craning, tail swishing and meows like he's a hell's angel. But let the door bell ring, and he dives under the bed and won't come out for an hour.

[LostinVA]

25. That's so cute! (my cats hate the door bell, too!)

[graywarrior]

28. Adorable. If he's in my lap and someone rings a doorbell

on tv, I have gouges left in my legs from his hasty retreat.

[LostinVA]

29. I had scars on my ear for a year. He PUNCTURED it

All the way through the ear (not earlobe) in three p;laces... because of the damn UPS man...

But... I love my kitty witties...

[graywarrior]

30. The visual is hilarious. Sorry.

That's who usually rings our door bell.

Lately Kamere has been trying to crawl inside my printer when it starts. He's destroyed many documents lately. And he's become a macrobiotic cat on his own. Will not eat fish, meat of any kind. Prefers steamed kale, collards, brown rice, tofu and tempeh. Will lap up miso soup and loves nori. Strange.

[LostinVA]

32. No, I laughed about it after my ear stopped bleeding a zillion hours later

[madinmaryland]

36. How much is a zillion?

:shrug:

[LostinVA]

37. Three

[XemaSab]

33. The Chinese word for squirrel means "tree rat."

[SaveElmer]

16. C'mon now...we know this animal was placed here in 4004 BC..

On October 26, at 9:00 am

Reverand Usher said so!!!

[RandiFan1290]

17. Vittles!!

[madinmaryland]

18. Is that the braised version?

[RandiFan1290]

20. Naturally.

With a side of brined root vegetables.

[Swede]

34. You know what they say,

they always taste batter the second day.

[Flaxbee]

21. What does Sonia think of it?

:hi: - just thinking of you guys, hoping you're well and hugs to Sonia!

[madinmaryland]

22. Mildly entertained!

She loves going out on the deck and watching the birds, squirrels, and chipmunks. Just as long as Panda is not chasing her around. They spend most of their waking hours chasing each other around and rough-housing. She's an instigator!!!

Have you adopted anymore kittens?

[Flaxbee]

26. we have our hands full, but at least are better situated for more cats...

an entire brood moved in last fall - a mommakitty and her three babies. We'd been feeding MommaKitty, who was a stray (like Sonia) and I could tell she'd just had or was about to have babies and lo and behold, she brought them to us. We've kept them; I couldn't find anyone who responded to my kitty-ads that I'd trust with them, and so we now have more than we bargained for but they're wonderful. They're on the porch watching birdie TV, too...

[noonwitch]

23. There's a difference between rats and squirrels, other than their tails?

They're all cat food, just like hamsters and mice.

[atomic-fly]

27. who knew....I love rat-squirrel

[libodem]

35. Kinda cute

My sons had pet ratsos for several years. We had the cool small animal modual cages with tubes to connect each individual unit. The most disgusting thing about the ratsos were their nasty hairless tails. That furry tail makes it a much more appealing creature. Makings of a much cuter rat, doncha think?