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Old 08-12-2008, 01:05 PM
 
55 posts, read 195,421 times
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I was sitting at Hemming Plaza the other day, just minding my own business when a big rat sauntered past from one landscaped area to the next. Now, if it was a rat..as in big mouse type rat, I may be changing my mind about my move. J/K...but it was HUGE!

Also, the lizards that scurry as you step on the sidewalk..what kind are they?
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Old 08-12-2008, 04:56 PM
 
Location: O-Town
1,781 posts, read 6,961,391 times
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The lizards are anoles most likely, they are the most common in central and North Florida.

Maybe your Rat was a opossum?



http://www.corkscrew.audubon.org/Wildlife/Lizards.html
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Old 08-12-2008, 05:01 PM
 
55 posts, read 195,421 times
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Hee hee...nope! I was born in KY so I've seen all versions of the opossum, both alive and dead, roasted and fried.

Maybe a baby muskrat? It really just looked like a very wide and shaggy version of a brown rat. With a nice long tail.

The brown anole looks like what I have seen. Thank you!
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Old 08-12-2008, 05:26 PM
 
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Most likely a River Rat. They can get quite large. Usually found around bodies of water, that's why they are called River Rats.
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Old 08-13-2008, 05:38 AM
 
Location: in the southwest
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I agree with Alphaman, maybe an opossum?
I saw one scurrying down the sidewalk just this morning.
They *do* look like big rats.
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Old 08-13-2008, 12:59 PM
 
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Could be a Nutria Rat (maybe they call them river rats here). They are so common in Louisana that the state and parishes regularly offer bounties on them. They get to be the size of a large cat or small dog.
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Old 08-13-2008, 03:23 PM
 
Location: O-Town
1,781 posts, read 6,961,391 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by vpdianne View Post
Most likely a River Rat. They can get quite large. Usually found around bodies of water, that's why they are called River Rats.

We had those up in Rhode Island we called them water rats but it sounds like what the op is describing.

http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/F...20/nutria.html

look here
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Old 08-13-2008, 09:07 PM
 
Location: Jax
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You usually don't see possums during the day, so I'd be thinking it was a rat too.

Next time feed it some of your lunch so you can snap a pic for us !
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Old 08-13-2008, 10:48 PM
 
55 posts, read 195,421 times
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Ok, now I'm really starting to wonder. My fiance (who lives in Jax) thinks I'm a bit nuts, I think.

I've seen nutria and opossums and this looked like neither..it didn't have webbed feet like a nutria.

Things that make you go hmmm.....(mutant rats in jax..cough, cough)
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Old 08-14-2008, 11:43 AM
 
Location: Jax
8,200 posts, read 35,446,971 times
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I think you need to scope it out again. Tie some cheese to your jacket and just lay on the park bench for a while, be sure the camera is ready to go !



Seriously, now I'm wondering what you saw ? We do have a fair amount of feral cats in Jax, and many of them are Manx (tailless), so they can look a bit funny (they sort of hop like bunnies when they're Manx - something to do with the spinal defect). Maybe you saw a really dirty cat ?

We also have Grey Fox, and they slink around really fast, though it's hard to miss that fox tail.
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