Rats

Rats

 

         Rats (Rattus) are seen as gross creatures but the book "Rats"by Robert Sullivan,  showed me that they are actually very interesting mammals. I think this is a well written book and recommend this book for people who want to lean more about rats.
Did you know that:  

• An adult rat can squeeze into your home through a hole as small as the size of a quarter.

• Rats have strong teeth that allow them to chew through glass, cinderblock, wire, aluminum and lead. 

• Rats do not have any thumbs.

• The white rat is a albino strain of the Norway rat.

• Rats are poor climbers, but very good swimmers.

• Rats use high-frequency sounds to communicate with eachother.

• A rats life span is about 2 to 3 years.

• Rats use thier tails to regulate thier body temperature.

• Rats have exellent memory. Once they learn a road path, they will never forget it.

            The brown rat is a brown or grey rodent with a body up to 25 cm long, and a similar tail length; the male weighs on average 350 g  and the female 250 g .Thought to have originated in northern China, this rodent has now spread to all continents except Antarctica, and is the dominant rat in Europe and much of North America—making it by at least this particular definition the most "successful" mammal on the planet after humans. Indeed, with rare exceptions, the brown rat lives wherever humans live, particularly in urban areas.