Teens in Oregon find giant South American rodent
Posted April 17th, 2008 by minortopics | via www.kare11.comApparently someone in Milwaukie, Oregon has a penchant for exotic pets. Think of the ecosystem balance, people!
At first, 17-year-old Nicco Phillips thought the animal sitting in the middle of the street was a baby deer.
Then he noticed it had a kangaroo-like head.
“I thought, what the heck is it?” Phillips said.
His girlfriend initially thought it was a large rabbit.
The Milwaukie High School student noticed the exotic animal about 8:30 a.m. Tuesday.
“It was letting me pet him but wouldn’t let me grab it,” Phillips said. “It started walking away and I followed and finally grabbed it from behind and picked it up.”
The animal appears to be a Patagonia Cavy, also known as a Patagonian Mara, a large rodent native to central and southern Argentina.