A wild debate has rumbled over the identity of a mysterious creature spotted in a back garden in Bury.
Ramsbottom mum Belinda Papworth saw the 'large' animal on Wednesday (February 24).
Belinda caught the unusual-looking critter on camera, believing it to be nothing more than a well-fed rat.
As time passed, she became increasingly unsure.
Belinda became so perplexed that she asked for help identifying it.
She told the Manchester Evening News : "I was certain it was a well-fed rat and watched it climb up a tree behind it.
"I'm just not sure. It was eating the fallen bird food.
"I haven't a clue what it is now, but the tail isn't long and thin - it's half the size of a rat's tail and chunky.
"The face doesn't look like a rat's face, unless it's got a chubby face too.
"I will be sad if it's a rat as I will have to get rid of the bird feeder. I'm working from home, so the birds have really brightened up my day.
"I'd be interested to hear if it's identified."
More than 400 suggestions flooded from M.E.N. readers.
Ferret, 'fat squirrel', escaped pet degu and wild wallaby were among them.
Someone thought it might be an Australian island native macropod. Quokka and the South African rock hyrax have also been suggested.
A water vole looking for shoots to eat proved a popular suggestion.
One reader said 'the mystery creature is almost certainly a Coypu' - referring to a semi-aquatic rodent.
Others put their money on the furry animal being a a humble dormouse.
Now the creature's identity may have been solve, with the help of Chester Zoo.
Although it 'is tricky to tell from this picture alone' and there is 'difficulty in gauging the scale of the animal', a mammal expert at the zoo and science centre believes it to be 'an overweight rat'.
The expert says 'rats do have long, skinny tails, which is not obvious in the picture, but it may well have lost half of it at some point int time'.
After the image sparked the imagination of hundreds, we could see the end of the debate, but the expert says there is no way to be certain sure from the picture.
Do you know what the animal is? Send in your suggestions through the comments, through a Facebook message to the My Bury - Manchester Evening News page, or to newsdesk@men-news.co.uk.
