Facts about rats. Interesting facts about rats Interesting facts about mice and rats
1. Rats appeared on Earth 48 million years earlier than humans.
2. On average, there are 2 rats for every inhabitant of the planet.
3. If a mouse is enlarged to human height and the skeleton is straightened, it turns out that the joints of mice and humans are structured the same, and the bones have an equal number of parts.
4. In the Middle Ages in Europe, on the orders of one of the bishops, rats were excommunicated from the church.
5. A rat can swim for 3 days in a row, swim several kilometers (the recorded record is 29 km) and drown if it does not find a way to get out.
6. Gray rats are capable of moving at a speed of 10 km/h, jumping up to a height of up to 80 cm, and in an aggressive state - up to 2 meters in height.
7. A rat's heart beats 500 times per minute, while a house mouse's heart beats 700–750 times per minute.
8. The finest hairs covering the rat's tail are used in ophthalmology during eye surgeries.
9. Rats dive well and climb ropes, pipes, and trees very well. During the day, rats are able to cover from 10 to 50 km.
10. Rats' teeth grow throughout their lives, so they are always gnawing on something to wear them down.
11. The rat easily chews through hard substances such as concrete and metal.
12. Rats whistle in the ultrasonic range, which allows them to communicate with each other without attracting the attention of predators. Moreover, they whistle not with their lips, but with their throats. They are also capable of suddenly changing the frequency of signals.
13. Rats have a rich vocabulary of calls with special meanings.
A baby rat in a moment of stress makes a sound equivalent in volume to a working pneumatic jackhammer, although due to the fact that it has an ultra-high frequency, a person cannot hear it.
14. It only takes a rat 50 milliseconds to figure out where the smell is coming from.
15. The rat senses X-rays in the part of the brain that controls the sense of smell.
16. A rat consumes about 12 kg of food per year, but this is incomparable with the amount of food it renders unusable. Statistics say that every sixth farmer feeds not people, but rats.
17. Rats are able to distinguish poisoned food from normal food even when the concentration of poison is one part per million.
18. A rat can live without water longer than a camel, and generally longer than all mammals.
19. Rats can withstand very high levels of radiation, but can die from mental shock or prolonged stress.
20. The rat is the only mammal other than humans that can laugh.
21. Rats also dream.
22. The rat family owns a plot whose radius is about 150 m.
23. Scientists have put forward a theory that rats could have caused the extinction of dinosaurs. Rats - lovers of eggs - massively sucked out the contents of dinosaur eggs, thereby stopping the continuation of their lineage. This seems to be true, since today in Ireland rats have eaten all the marsh frogs.
24. During the Great Patriotic War, during bombings, people hid in houses into which rats escaped.
25. In Illinois, under penalty of a $1,000 fine, it is “prohibited to hit a rat with a baseball bat.”
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1. Rats appeared on Earth 48 million years earlier than humans.
2. On average, there are 2 rats for every inhabitant of the planet.
3. If a mouse is enlarged to the height of a person and the skeleton is straightened, it turns out that the joints of mice and people are structured the same, and the bones have an equal number of parts.
4. In the Middle Ages in Europe, on the orders of one of the bishops, rats were excommunicated from the church.
5. A rat can swim for 3 days in a row, swim several kilometers (the recorded record is 29 km) and drown if it does not find a way to get out.
6. Gray rats are capable of moving at a speed of 10 km/h, jumping up to a height of up to 80 cm, and in an aggressive state - up to 2 meters in height.
7. A rat’s heart beats at a speed of 500 times per minute, while a house mouse’s heart beats 700-750 times per minute.
8. The finest hairs covering the rat's tail are used in ophthalmology during eye surgeries.
9. Rats dive well and climb ropes, pipes, and trees very well. During the day, rats are able to cover from 10 to 50 km.
10. Rats' teeth grow throughout their lives, so they are always gnawing on something to wear them down.
11. The rat easily chews through hard substances such as concrete and metal.
12. Rats whistle in the ultrasonic range, which allows them to communicate with each other without attracting the attention of predators. Moreover, they whistle not with their lips, but with their throats. They are also capable of suddenly changing the frequency of signals.
13. Rats have a rich vocabulary of screams with special meanings. 
A baby rat in a moment of stress makes a sound equivalent in volume to a working pneumatic jackhammer, although due to the fact that it has an ultra-high frequency, a person cannot hear it.
14. It only takes a rat 50 milliseconds to figure out where the smell is coming from.
15. The rat senses X-rays in the part of the brain that controls the sense of smell.
16. A rat consumes about 12 kg of food per year, but this is incomparable with the amount of food that it renders unusable. Statistics say that every sixth farmer feeds not people, but rats.
17. Rats are able to distinguish poisoned food from normal food even when the concentration of poison is one part per million .
18. A rat can live without water longer than a camel, and generally longer than all mammals.
19. Rats can withstand very high levels of radiation, but can die from mental shock or prolonged stress.
20. The rat is the only mammal other than humans that can
laugh.
21. Rats also dream. 
22. A rat family owns a plot of land whose radius is about 150 m.
23. Scientists have put forward a version that rats could have caused the extinction of dinosaurs. Egg-loving rats sucked out the contents of dinosaur eggs en masse, thereby stopping the continuation of their lineage. This seems to be true, since today in Ireland rats have eaten all the marsh frogs.
24. During the Great Patriotic War, during the bombing, people hid in houses into which rats escaped.
25. In Illinois, under penalty of a $1,000 fine, “hitting rats with a baseball bat is prohibited.”
Today we will dispel the idea of many that rats are pests. In fact, these are smart animals that lead a mostly nocturnal, secretive lifestyle and can sometimes surprise people. Well, let's start being amazed, because interesting facts about rats will impress anyone.
Fact 1: Rat vision – external and internal
In order to imagine how rats see, it is enough to recall human colorblind people with extreme manifestations of the disease. Animals practically do not distinguish colors; the whole world for them is a collection of spots of different sizes and intensities that are in motion. Rodents' external vision is very poor, but they don't need it. Rats hear perfectly, distinguishing the direction and distance of even a subtle rustle, and can determine its cause. In addition, the animals have a delicate sense of smell and touch. 
There is another incredible fact. Scientific experiments with rats have shown that test subjects have inner vision. In humans, this is called premonition, or the ability to see possible developments of events. This theory is supported by a well-known fact: rodents, which live in large numbers on board a ship, leave before it sinks. There are also more specific confirmations. For example, in the Stalingrad hell, animals left the city en masse before the next air raid. They also feel nuclear tests, running away from test sites several hours before the events. 
Fact 2: about mutated rats
Mutant rats have been shown more than once in many films and cartoons, and for the famous American horror writer Stephen King, such animals are one of his worst phobias. Urban legends place monsters deep underground: in the subway, stinking sewers, and landfills. I wonder how likely it is that if we suddenly find ourselves in such places, we will certainly meet a huge rat?
Honestly, this could happen. True, no one has ever seen an animal the size of a person, but individuals the size of a dog exist. For example, Bosavi woolly rats, which were discovered during an American scientific expedition to the Bosavi Crater (New Guinea), reach a length of more than 80 cm and weigh 1.5 kg. However, they are not evil at all, but cute, sociable animals that do not show any aggression when meeting a person. Looking at their photographs, you never cease to be amazed at how diverse the world is. So far it is believed that this is the largest rat in the world.
But let's return to Russia. The Pasyuk is considered the largest rat living in our country. You have seen representatives of this genus more than once near basements, in garbage dumps and in gutters. This is a gray rat, in size it can be up to 25 cm, in weight - up to 400g. Their black relatives are smaller and more agile: up to 22 cm and no more than 300g. And yet, this is not even the size of a cat, especially a large one. So let's put the legends aside. Our gray and black rats are not mutants.
Fact 3: Rats are smart, social animals
And it is true. If we compare it with our usual pets, the rat is superior in intelligence to the cat. Rodents can laugh and talk. The sounds they make are very diverse, and communication represents real speech with specific words and concepts. This is what explains the harmoniously organized life of animals. Many rat breeders note that animals can make a huge number of sounds, each of them meaningful, and, like words in human speech, they sound the same in different individuals. They talk, negotiate, laugh at funny situations. Scientists have come to the conclusion that the sounds of rats are akin to human communication. And it's amazing. 
Go ahead. Rats are incredibly clean creatures when it comes to personal hygiene. They wash themselves touchingly for several hours a day. This significantly reduces the chance of getting sick even compared to a cat, not to mention a dog. The subjects of many pictures of rats show how the rodent washes itself. He tries to lick all the fur. Rat love for bodies of water also contributes to cleanliness. The animals are not at all afraid of water and dive well. 
Smart rats remember the road after walking along it once. They never get lost and easily find their way out of labyrinths. Thanks to their natural intelligence and high learning ability, these rodents are considered one of the thriving species. By the way, studying the skull of a rat, scientists came to the conclusion that the potential for development of the animal’s intelligence is not much different from that of a human. But so far these animals are not smarter than us. 
Fact 4: not very warm relations with relatives
For many people, a mouse and a rat are practically the same thing. But in fact, the differences between these two types of rodents are significant. And, first of all, visual. For example, the skeleton of a rat is more elongated than that of a mouse, gigantic and long. Animals also differ in intelligence. Rats are much smarter than mice, quickly become attached to humans, and sometimes show miracles of intelligence. Mice are more aggressive, although they also learn well. 
But most importantly: mice and rats are natural enemies. They do not live together and do not maintain warm family ties. Being omnivores, rats are not averse to snacking on mouse meat. These types of rodents do not interbreed with each other.
Fact 5: about life and about illnesses
It is believed that if a rat bites you, then that’s it, you will get sick with almost the most terrible diseases. In fact, this is more myth than truth. Or rather, even the memory of the plague epidemics that developed from the invasion of rats and claimed thousands of human lives in medieval Europe. Of course, this was a historical fact. And the point here, first of all, is not a rat bite, but the general unsanitary conditions that reigned in the cities of those years. Sewage flowed straight through the streets, food and other waste rotted everywhere, people did not wash for weeks. Under such conditions, the emergence of epidemics is not surprising. 
But rat immunity is amazing. These clean animals practically do not get sick. The reason for this is, firstly, a passion for personal hygiene, and secondly, initially good health. Rodents even have a gene that protects them from contracting sexually transmitted diseases.
Rats don't like to bite. For it to bite a person (especially if it is a tamed animal), you need to try very hard. Rodents are peaceful and do not enter into conflicts. And yet, the bitten person may panic: what if I was unlucky and some terrible disease was nevertheless transmitted? There is no need to be scared; usually everything works out. But still, there is a possibility of contracting rabies, especially in the case of a wild animal. Therefore, answering the question of what to do if you are bitten by a rat, we advise you to immediately consult a doctor.
Now about how long they live. Let us warn you right away: if you have such a friend living with you, new emotions and admiration are guaranteed, but not for long. The entire life of an animal is no more than 2-3 years, although some record holders live up to 7-8. That's how long rats live, and it's sad because, having barely become attached to the pet, the owner is already forced to say goodbye to them.
Now you know all the most interesting things about rats. By keeping these animals in your home and listening to the sounds they make, you will learn to understand how pets communicate and distinguish their intonations. It's always interesting to watch something like this. If you are deciding which is better to get - a rat or a mouse, we recommend the first option. This species is social, gets used to it faster and is easier to learn. In addition, cases of aggression towards humans are more common in mice. Pet stores also sell everything for rats and other rodents. 
At first glance, one might assume that there is nothing scary about rats. However, of course, there are people to whom they do not seem like cute and touching little animals - but to squeal heart-rendingly and climb onto tables and chairs at the sight of some unfortunate rodent...
There are at least five reasons that justify this reaction:
1. They will still get you
Monsters from classic horror films are scary not only and not so much because of their bloodthirstiness. They are almost unstoppable - this is what makes us squeeze into our chairs. You can lock yourself in as many locks as you like and take any precautions you want - but if Jason from Friday the 13th, Freddy from A Nightmare on Elm Street or some "Woman in Black" is hunting you, you have a chance... yourself you understand.
Otherwise, what's the point of a horror movie? I set the alarm and that's it, end of the movie.
It's a similar story with rats. You can do whatever you want to protect your home from them, but if a rat decides to come visit you, he will do it, rest assured.
A rat can climb up any ventilation at a time. Let's say you figured it out and plugged all the holes. However, as it turned out in the course of one study, it costs nothing for a small rat to lift an object weighing more than a pound (~0.5 kg) if it has suspicions that the parquet floor is more appetizing on the other side.
They can squeeze into tiny holes—no larger than a quarter of the rat's girth in diameter. This is an almost finished T-1000 from the second part about the Terminator: cover it with a steel net and it will leak between the bars before you can blink an eye.
But the most favorite way to get into our homes is through pipes. Moreover, four centimeters in diameter is quite enough for them. And yet, they are champion swimmers. Combine these two skills and you get an animal that might one day emerge from your toilet.
And such cases are not uncommon.
Let's say you took this into account and blocked this opportunity for them - what next? If they have already taken on you, they will gnaw a separate entrance for themselves through the wall, and they will not lose anything.
Nature - apparently to keep us on our toes - has endowed rats with incredibly strong, even for rodents, jaw muscles. And while some bunny is peacefully gnawing on the bark of a tree, give these small creatures brick, cement and even lead. Their incisors grow throughout their lives, and they have no choice but to constantly grind them down.
2. They reproduce at an incredible rate
Another feature of movie monsters is not in our favor - they breed a population of their own kind at an incredible speed.
Usually these are alien creatures who intend to fill the entire Earth with themselves in record time. They may look like shapeless amoebas made of flesh and teeth, reproducing by division, or like disgusting winged monsters that lay eggs in human bodies. One thing is constant - they all multiply very quickly.
This group includes James Cameron's Aliens, John Carpenter's The Thing and... that's right, our rats.
One pair of rodents manages to give birth to up to 6,000 cubs in 2-3 years of their life. Less than three months pass before new offspring also begin to reproduce, and so on. Moreover, it is not customary for them for the younger generation to go to seek a better life in foreign lands. If there is enough food, they will not move until they flood the whole city.
By the way, many regions that skimped on pest control during the recession experienced a real rat baby boom.
CURRENTLY there are around 80 million rats in Britain, up 200 per cent since 2007. And even with all modern methods of rodent control, in New York there is at least one rat per person.
3. They are champions at hide and seek.
Movie monsters are masters of camouflage: they either attack from around the corner or manage to remain unnoticed in plain sight. Cthulhu lurks at the bottom of the sea, Freddy Krueger exists as an abstract concept in the nightmares of his victims, and Predators can literally turn invisible.
This is understandable - if we could find their number in the telephone directory or drop it under their door, this would be a completely different genre.
And here everything is written like rats. This does not mean that finding a rat in your home is a difficult task. This means that even a team of trained specialists armed with the latest technological developments may be powerless here.
We know what we're talking about. A group of scientists, hoping to learn something new about the life and movements of rodents, took a single rat named Rasputin to a lonely island near New Zealand, where there had been no rats before. Previously, they took a DNA sample of their ward. Then they put a special electronic collar on the rat, and for four weeks they studied where the rat sleeps, where it eats, what routes it takes, and stuff like that.
Then for some reason they decided to catch this rat.
Despite the traps (there were more than three dozen of them) placed in Rasputin’s favorite places, despite all the baits and tricks, despite the efforts of two specially trained dogs who knew their business, nothing came of it. Worse, at some point the radio signal from the device attached to the animal stopped receiving, and hopes of finding the rodent disappeared like smoke.
What is surprising is that Rasputin was still found: after 18 weeks, and on a completely different island - about half a kilometer from where he was released. Nobody knew that rats could swim so far.
4. They are indestructible
This quality unites many movie monsters, especially serial ones: you kill them, you kill them, and by the time the next part comes out they are like new again.
Well, what do rats have to do with it, you ask. Common rodents. No hint of immortality. They can be anything they want, but considering them invincible is too much.
What is the surest way to kill a rat? I? So here it is. When rats find food they aren't sure is safe, they try it first—just a little. And if they feel somehow wrong, they don’t touch this food again. They are well aware of our insidious plans and know how to destroy them.
In addition, we are increasingly faced with a completely new variety of these creatures, which scientists have already nicknamed “super mutant rats”, which are no longer affected by practically any poison.
And when even scientists call their experimental subjects names worthy of horror movie characters, it’s a bad thing.
5. They are out for your blood.
We have reached the last, one of the most disgusting types of monsters, which have only one goal - to drink your blood. All kinds of zombies, vampires, werewolves and even “Jaws” are the most motivated monsters presented in our article. Because they think you're delicious.
And here rats are no exception.
Everyone knows that rats are not averse to carrion. And it is also believed that they are completely indiscriminate in food. But it is not so. There is something they have a particular weakness for - human blood. And if a rat tastes this “delicacy” once, it will not calm down until it gets to it again.
Scientists who have been studying rats for 22 years say your best chance of getting bitten by a rat is between midnight and 8 a.m., while you're sleeping peacefully in your bed, unaware that the infectious critter is about to grab your face.
And this is not an exaggeration either: rats most often bite the face or hands.
And these are not spiders that will bite once and that’s it. If a rat has bitten you once, there is a really good chance that it will want to continue the banquet.
And she bites not necessarily for the sake of self-defense or out of fear, and not even because she is hungry.
She just wants your blood. Literally.
In 1945, Professor K. Richter conducted a study whose purpose was to find out what attracts rats to people.
He gave the rats access to large quantities of human blood. In 24 hours, the rodents drank every drop - and this was four times their usual daily amount of food! Here is Richter's conclusion, word for word: "Rats may indeed develop a strong craving for fresh human blood."