From time immemorial, these smart, dexterous and, of course, cunning animals have been and continue to be a serious problem for all mankind. In the Middle Ages, they were generally a natural disaster! Who are they? Of course, rats. In the house, in the garden and in warehouses, these creatures cause serious damage to food and the household, creating big problems for us.
They were excommunicated…
Once these creatures kept cities and towns at bay. In the XIII-XV centuries, they were generally the root cause of the death of the population from certain infectious diseases, such as cholera. The famous naturalist Roussenelle once compared the invasion of rats with the raids of the hordes of Attila and Genghis Khan.
As soon as mankind did not fight with rats. These creatures were destroyed by hundreds and thousands. In the fight against them, people used the most effective poisons, boiling water, fire. It is curious that rats were even excommunicated from the church, invoking a curse from heaven on their entire family! There are about 64 different species of these rodents, but only three are known in general: the gray, black and white (decorative) rat.
The most famous rats
As we said above, the most common types of these rodents are the black rat and the gray or pasyuk. The second type can be called differently: ship, or Dutch. The first reach a length of 40 centimeters, of which 20 centimeters fall on a long tail.
The second species is much larger: gray rats grow up to 45 centimeters in length, having a tail 19 centimeters long. Another species of these rodents is the white rat. It was artificially bred by man in the laboratory. We'll talk about her later.
Their legendary past
It's no exaggeration to say that gray and black rats have a legendary military past. In the Middle Ages, they literally captured the whole of Europe, devouring huge quantities of food supplies, thereby dooming cities and villages to starvation. Gray rats in 1722 generally made a whole trip from the Caspian Sea straight to Italy.
The lifestyle of gray and black rats
These rodents live everywhere: there is almost no rat-free zone on the globe. Is that the polar regions - the Arctic and Antarctica. They feel especially good next to a person. Rats are outrageously voracious and prolific creatures. For example, one female is able to bring a brood consisting of hundreds of her own kind in exactly one year. That is why the rat is considered an indestructible animal!
Gray and black rats perfectly endure even the most difficult living conditions. These rodents arerarity tenacious creatures. They do not care about frost, water, cold, or hunger. Just think: even radiation does not stop rats! It is curious that on one of the islands where the military conducted a test of nuclear weapons, rats not only did not die, but also bred in huge numbers! Scientists have recorded their average length - more than 1 meter.
Where do they live?
Rats, like mice, use burrows as their shelters. They either dig them on their own, or occupy someone's abandoned ones. The black rat can generally occupy natural shelters (stumps, snags, hollows) and nests of certain birds. They live both alone and form entire territorial groups.
What do rats eat?
The vast majority of these creatures are omnivores. But, of course, even among rats there are true gourmets: certain species have certain food preferences. While some prefer purely plant foods (vegetables, fruits and seeds), others are happy to eat mollusks, insects and other small invertebrates.
Cannibalism in rats
In addition to humans, rats have other enemies - dogs and cats. But that's more! From time to time, rats (decorative and wild) eat each other, representing a serious threat to themselves. From the point of view of common sense, this is, of course, good, because in this way they significantly help their own extermination. Sometimes parent rats devour their own babies, and sometimes the opposite is true.
King Rat
Zoologists yetcannot yet fully explain the phenomenon of the so-called "rat king". This phenomenon is quite widespread among these animals. What it is? This is a huge ball of rodents tightly intertwined with their paws and tails. In the "rat king" every rat is involved. A large pile of these creatures can include up to 60-70 individuals.
All representatives of the "rat king" live at the expense of offerings from other relatives. Why? Because they themselves, even with all their desire, will not be able to budge: their paws and tails are literally chained. Scientists are trying to find the answer to this mystery of nature, but so far they have not succeeded. No wonder they say that one of the smartest animals on earth is a rat (gray, black, white, decorative). Consider decorative in more detail.
Decorative rats
So called domesticated gray or black rats. Yes Yes exactly! Sometimes a domestic (decorative) rat is gray, and not just white. Once in the UK, they were taken out in order to earn extra money: people staged the so-called rat-dog fights. Decorative rodents not for life, but for death fought with terriers. A little later, some experiments began to be carried out on them. This is how the name "lab rat" was born.
In our time, these rodents are becoming increasingly popular as companion animals. A huge number of their varieties have already been bred, having their own coat color (for example, a white rat), a certain body structure and the so-called marking - spotswhite on the main color.
The difference between decorative rats and wild ones
The differences between these breeds of rodents are very significant. Let's see how decorative rats differ from their wild relatives.
- Ornamental individuals have a pure white or mixed color (white with black and red spots). Geneticists say that random mutations can occur in nature between domestic and wild rats, but they are rare.
- Decorative rats, in comparison with wild ones, are the most calm creatures. Their behavior is markedly different. They are more tame, since they are originally bred by humans in laboratories, getting used to it from the first days of life.
- Decorative rats are more prolific than wild ones. And their body mass is many times greater than the mass of ordinary gray and black rats.
- Rodents domesticated by humans prefer to sleep at night, while wild ones, on the contrary, go hunting.
- In a fight, gray and black rats make sharper and louder sounds, and decorative rats only chirp slightly.
The most important difference between domesticated and wild rodents is their lifespan. The former live much longer than the latter, and this is due primarily to the conditions of their habitat. The fact is that decorative rodents have constant access to water and food, and are also completely protected from predators.
They have a shelter, they receive timely medical care. Alas, their wild relatives cannot see such benefits as their ownears. The average lifespan of domestic rats is about 2 years, while wild rats in most cases do not live up to a year…
