It looks like a rat, is as big as a beaver and is said to taste like 'sweet, muddy chicken'.
The nutria, a South American river-dwelling mammal, is the focus of considerable attention across Thailand.
For the past few years, Thai farmers with an eye to the fur market have been describing the nutrias as 'grass otters'.
But they did not seem so cute and cuddly when several escaped nutrias with 60-centimetre tails were sighted in Bangkok. Now they are known as giant rats.
Spotted in front of certain karaoke bars and discos, the nutrias have induced panic among customers and hostesses and have done little for return business.
Gangsters who once emptied sacks of snakes in packed restaurants reluctant to pay protection money are now eyeing the nutria as an easier alternative.
As word and fear of the vegetarian mammal spreads, agricultural officials are investigating whether a ban is needed to prevent infectious diseases and countryside chaos.