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Animal Talk with Pecker: The Amazing Rat
Posted on 9/15/17 at 2:41 pm
Posted on 9/15/17 at 2:41 pm
We all hate them. These gross, unsanitary, little bastards live everywhere, eat anything and refuse to go away. “But Pecker,” you ask, “what’s so amazing about the rat?” Everything. Everything about this horrid little creature is amazing. Come with me as we go on a journey to discover what makes these little rodents so damn amazing.
While there are obviously many species of rat, for the sake of time, we’ll be discussing the most common species, the ubiquitous brown rat. The brown rat (also known as the common rat, street rat, sewer rat and many other names) is a member of Muroidea, the large superfamily of rodents, including mice, rats, voles, hamsters, gerbils. No one knowns exactly where these guys came from but the prevailing theory is that they originated in East Asia and spread to other parts of the world sometime during the middle ages.
These little monsters usually grow up to 10 inches long with a 10-inch long tail. If you’re not into math, that’s 20 inches of rat. Exceptionally large rats can grow up to 16 inches with a 10-inch tail. These vexing vermin can eat anything: fruits, bugs, eggs, vegetables, birds, fish, steak, leather, its own feces, other rats. These amazing little creatures will pull nutritional value from anything in the environment as a means to survive. Rats' front teeth grow 4½ to 5½ inches each year. To prevent their teeth from becoming too long, rats continuously gnaw on everything around them, including concrete, brick, wood, lead pipes, and other small animals. The teeth are strong enough to gnaw through lead pipes and concrete.
If you happen to live anywhere on this planet, odds are you’ve seen a brown rat. They can live practically anywhere, but they naturally go where the most food is, and this usually means following humans. It is often said that there are as many rats in cities as people. It’s difficult to know how many rats live in our largest cities, but what is certain is that they thrive in the sewer systems feeding on trash and waste. Rats are naturally drawn to damp environments and are expert swimmers. A rat can tread water for three days and survive being flushed down the toilet. That’s right, you can flush them down the toilet and still not kill them. In addition to their ability to swim, another amazing feature that allows them to go practically anywhere is their unique ribcage. A rat's ribs are hinged at the spine and collapse when necessary, enabling it to easily squeeze through the tightest of spaces.
Maybe you’re noticing a trend here. These little freaks are unstoppable. They also reproduce at an alarming rate. A female rat can mate as many as 500 times with various males during a six-hour period of receptivity—a state she experiences about 15 times per year. Thus a pair of brown rats can produce as many as 2,000 descendants in a year if left to breed unchecked. They’re like a plague. An amazing, unstoppable little plague. A plague that also happens to be rather intelligent. Studies have shown that in many ways rats are just as intelligent as dogs. And in some ways, even more so. Remarkably, rats have also outperformed humans in certain cognitive tasks. Researcher Ben Vermaercke stated that “A more complex brain isn’t always a better one. In information integration tasks, rats applied what they learned more quickly.”
Rats prefer to avoid humans and other animals. But when faced with a threat, these menacing muroids can be quite vicious. With sharp claws and teeth that can chew through lead pipes, a rat is a formidable foe for other small mammals (now you understand why Tramp had such a tough time fighting off that rat. It was a brave thing he did saving that baby, and he never got the credit he deserved). Avoiding rats is usually a safe bet for humans, as rats are known to transmit several potentially fatal diseases to humans, including viral hemorrhagic fever, plague, Weil's disease, and Q fever.
Well here we are. I cannot in good faith urge you to gather your friends and family and tell them to help protect these sometimes cute little monsters. Unlike the caracal and mandrill, rats are not majestic or regal. They are most certainly not endangered.
But they are amazing. Amazing wonders of nature. So with that, join me in celebrating the amazing rat!
Animal Talk Archive
The Tasmanian Tiger (Extinction Edition)
The Megabat (Flying Fox)
The Caracal
The Mandrill
This post was edited on 9/15/17 at 3:01 pm
Posted on 9/15/17 at 2:45 pm to Pecker
They are industrious little things too.
Posted on 9/15/17 at 2:45 pm to Pecker
quote:
The Amazing Rat
Or for the more learned of us, "the flightless bat" or even "the scrawny nutria".
Posted on 9/15/17 at 2:46 pm to Pecker
A roommate of mine at LSU had a pet rat for a while... solid white one, it was pretty chill. Friendly, even.
Posted on 9/15/17 at 2:48 pm to Pecker
Let us not forget the Stadium Rat who gave us the Jambalaya calculator
All Hail the Jambalaya Calculator
All Hail the Jambalaya Calculator
Posted on 9/15/17 at 2:51 pm to Pecker
quote:
Studies have shown that in many ways rats are just as intelligent as dogs. And in some ways, even more so. Remarkably, rats have also outperformed humans in certain cognitive tasks
You can add to the intelligence section that pet rats can learn their name and respond accordingly when called
They are resilient as hell
Posted on 9/15/17 at 2:54 pm to Pecker
Hi Pecker, long time fan. I have a couple of questions for you regarding the amazing rat. I am very busy at work today, so I will try to keep questions short.
1) Your 6th graphic appears to show the amazing rat while running (fleeing, I am assuming). What is the average speed that these guys can scamper? Is there a current land-speed record documented?
2) I've always heard that the amazing rat is "unsafe" for human consumption. Is this true? If true, is it because of the amazing rat's diet?
3) I was watching a movie with my youngest last weekend about an amazing rat that, against all odds, was an amazing chef. Do you have any clue if this flick was autobiographical? I would love to do more research on this little guy.
Thanks in advance,
PS: Sorry about your wife.
1) Your 6th graphic appears to show the amazing rat while running (fleeing, I am assuming). What is the average speed that these guys can scamper? Is there a current land-speed record documented?
2) I've always heard that the amazing rat is "unsafe" for human consumption. Is this true? If true, is it because of the amazing rat's diet?
3) I was watching a movie with my youngest last weekend about an amazing rat that, against all odds, was an amazing chef. Do you have any clue if this flick was autobiographical? I would love to do more research on this little guy.
Thanks in advance,
PS: Sorry about your wife.
Posted on 9/15/17 at 2:56 pm to Pecker
Well done, Pecker. These animal threads are my favorite on the entire site..
Posted on 9/15/17 at 2:56 pm to Pecker
when i was in college, i worked at a big hunting/fishing store in Baton Rouge. We had a big gun department and sold everything under the sun, including suppressors. when a customer would buy one, we'd only make them put down half since the approval process took so long. after they put down the deposit, we'd staple a receipt to the suppressor box and put them in a safe
one day we open the safe and all the receipts are shredded and compacted into a corner. there was an anchor hole at the bottom of the safe that you use to bolt it to the floor, with a diameter about the size of a quarter. a rat had squeezed through, ate some of the receipts, tried to make a nest, then rolled out
put out a glue trap and caught that little mfr the next night. felt bad that he died, he was a high-IQ rat
one day we open the safe and all the receipts are shredded and compacted into a corner. there was an anchor hole at the bottom of the safe that you use to bolt it to the floor, with a diameter about the size of a quarter. a rat had squeezed through, ate some of the receipts, tried to make a nest, then rolled out
put out a glue trap and caught that little mfr the next night. felt bad that he died, he was a high-IQ rat
Posted on 9/15/17 at 2:58 pm to Pecker
Rats are definitely interesting creatures.
Read a book about them called "Rats! Rats! Rats!" They made comment about their favorite human food being scrambled eggs, and that you can tell a restaurant/building has a rat problem because they leave a greasy foot path along the base of the walls.
Rats, and mice for that matter, can not regurgitate, so they can be very picky about what they eat. Which it is why it is sometimes very difficult to poison them.
Read a book about them called "Rats! Rats! Rats!" They made comment about their favorite human food being scrambled eggs, and that you can tell a restaurant/building has a rat problem because they leave a greasy foot path along the base of the walls.
Rats, and mice for that matter, can not regurgitate, so they can be very picky about what they eat. Which it is why it is sometimes very difficult to poison them.
Posted on 9/15/17 at 3:12 pm to JetFuelTyga
quote:
Hi Pecker, long time fan. I have a couple of questions for you regarding the amazing rat. I am very busy at work today, so I will try to keep questions short.
1) Your 6th graphic appears to show the amazing rat while running (fleeing, I am assuming). What is the average speed that these guys can scamper? Is there a current land-speed record documented?
2) I've always heard that the amazing rat is "unsafe" for human consumption. Is this true? If true, is it because of the amazing rat's diet?
3) I was watching a movie with my youngest last weekend about an amazing rat that, against all odds, was an amazing chef. Do you have any clue if this flick was autobiographical? I would love to do more research on this little guy.
Thanks in advance,
PS: Sorry about your wife.
1) rats can do about 8 mph. They're not particularly fast, but they are very agile and accelerate rapidly. I imagine it's difficult to clock rodents and I didn't find much on top speed.
2) rats are filthy and eat filthy shite, but so are shrimp (scrimp). In developing areas they eat all kinds of shite, rats included. I assume it's the same as other rodents such as squirrels, you just cook the shite out of them.
3) I don't see why a rat couldn't beat the odds and succeed in the culinary world. The rat would obviously need to have a love for the culinary arts and a good mentor. I'm not aware of any rats doing such things, but they are amazing creatures so I wouldn't bet against them.
Thanks for the kind words about my wife.
Posted on 9/15/17 at 4:07 pm to LSUBoo
It would have died if I was living there.
Posted on 9/15/17 at 4:16 pm to Pecker
Don't female rats constantly leak urine? Is that mentioned anywhere?
Posted on 9/15/17 at 4:17 pm to Pecker
Why aren't there any rats in Alberta?
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