Rare Giant Rat The Size Of An Infant Caught On Camera In Case You Wanted Something New To Worry About

A new video shows a rare kind of giant rat that has been caught on camera.

And no, it was not your neighbor's yuppy chihuahua.

Researchers on the South Pacific island of Vangunu managed to snag some footage of Uromys vika, or the more apt non-Latin name, the Vangunu giant rat.

That prodigious rodent is twice the size of a common rat. It's believed to grow as large as a human baby. They were first discovered in 2017, however, it was only seen, not photographed.

If that wasn't upsetting enough, these giant rats are armed with some gnarly chompers. They use those to gnaw threw coconuts, which is great, but what else would they use them for on a small island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean? Let that thing loose in any large city and let's see what it uses them for.

It will not be for opening coconuts, I can assure you that.

Unfortunately for rat enthusiasts — who I assume exist, and are no doubt a blast to get cornered by at a party — these giant rats are severely endangered.

I don't like the idea of giant rodents. At all. I'm just happy that these things have been sequestered far away from where I live where they can crack open coconuts without horrifying me.

But hey, it could always be worse. It could always be much, much worse.

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