Cat-sized rat discovered in South Pacific

If you have a tendency to jump shrieking on to a table when you see a mouse, look away now: a species of rat the size of a cat has been discovered.

The outsized rodent, which has been named the Bosavi woolly rat, is almost a metre long and weighs in at 1.5kg. It was found trapped inside the crater of Mt Bosavi, an extinct volcano on Papua New Guinea, which has been described as a "lost world" in which scientists have found some 40 previously undiscovered species.

The rat has dense silvery grey fur and the shape of its teeth suggests it is primarily a vegetarian. It is thought to live in subterranean nests.

The animal was found by a BBC Natural History Unit film crew and Dr Kristofer Helgen, of the Smithsonian Institute in Washington DC.

"This is one of the world's largest rats," he said. "It is a true rat, related to the same kind you find in the city sewers, but a heck of a lot bigger."

Despite the BBC's claims, there have been previous reports of the species existence.

In 2007 Kristofer Helgen, a scientist with the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, reported the rat was "about five times the size of a typical city rat".

Dr George McGavin, the head scientist of the BBC Natural History Unit, however, suggested the rodent was not aggressive.

"This rat was incredibly tame," he told the Guardian newspaper. "It just sat next to me nibbling on a piece of leaf. It won't have seen a human before."

Some of the other new species found include a fanged frog, a fish that grunts and a gecko. The fish has been called the henamo grunter because of the noises it makes with its swim bladder.

The Bosavi silky cuscus, a marsupial that lives up trees and feeds on fruits and leaves, was another creature not to feel threatened by the human visitors, climbing on to the shoulder of Steve Backshall, a climber and naturalist.

"I can't begin to describe how it feels to have an animal in my hands that in all probability has never before been seen by science," he told the Guardian. "Most biologists would consider it a great achievement to name one new species but at some points on this trip it seemed like everything we were looking at was new. The end of every day was like a massive party. It was very special."

Taken there by local trackers, the group stayed in the crater for two weeks in January to film a BBC series on Mt Bosavi called Lost Land of the Volcano.

The area was so remote the expedition team had to organise for fields of sweet potato and spinach to be planted in the jungle six months in advance so they would have a ready food source.

Weeks were also devoted to negotiations - which had to be translated into the local language, Kasua, spoken by fewer than 1000 people - to gain permission to cross land owned by local clans.

Some strange news and people!

A 65-year-old amateur pilot was allegedly so drunk when flying his light Cessna over eastern Germany he could not read the instruments telling him where the airfield was. "Come on, I know you're down there," he radioed. "Where the bloody hell have you hidden yourself?" Control tower staff say he sang a few songs, cracked a mother-in-law joke and told them to "pull their fingers out as I've got a party to go to". Although he landed safely, he was breathalysed on the way home and found to be nearly four times over the limit. He lost his driver's and his pilot's licences. (Source: Telegraph.co.uk)
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The Red Cross claim their emblem is being abused when it's used to market businesses and products unrelated to their humanitarian deeds. "How many times have you seen a bottle of 'hair emergency' shampoo with a Red Cross on the packaging, or the local computer doctor's van sign written with a Red Cross emblem?" The Red Cross, who have 20 organisation they are in communication with over the issue, are trying to educate people that they can't just use the red cross symbol on a white background willy nilly. They say it "undermines its protective power in armed conflicts, potentially putting lives at risk".
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The public's watching you Rodney: "If you think it's bad seeing Rodney Hide texting or using his blackberry while driving, try being in the passenger seat while it's happening," writes a reader. "I had the dubious honour once and I feared for my life! He was trying to answer an email on his phone and was swerving all over the road. It was pretty scary because I knew we'd come off second-best in a collision given the size of his Smart car."
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Thousands of camels in Australia will be shot from helicopters and turned into burgers to stop them barging into people's homes and ripping up their bathrooms looking for water, reports Sky News.com. Tony Peacock, chief executive of the University of Canberra's Invasive Animals Co-operative Research Center, said: "To be shot from a helicopter is actually quite humane, even though that sounds brutal. If I was a camel, I'd prefer to just get it in the head."
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Best tweet about Random Acts of Kindness Day: "Embarrassing - misread it as Kingness. Five peasants needlessly beaten, plus a smutty phone call to Camilla."
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A View from our Sundeck. (Mid winter, Auckland, New Zealand)

A gorgeous morning during mid winter, took this shot from our sundeck with Canon Digital SLR 1000D.

Green Plant on my porch, Auckland, New Zealand (July, 2009, David Lim)

I have seen this type of plant in Auckland, but do not know its name. I like the geomatric type of pattern of this plant, though it does not have flower, but the leaves resembles some or of flower pattern.