The homeland of rats is the Asia Minor Peninsula. Rats were transported to all parts of the world on ships. In Europe, they appeared during the Crusades in the 11th-13th centuries, when the crusaders (knights from Western Europe) returned from Palestine. After a short period of time, rats spread throughout Europe.

Are rats pests?

Nobody likes rats: they are very unpleasant creatures. In the entire history of mankind, there has not been an animal with which people would not fight everywhere with more fury and zeal than rats! The two most common varieties of rats - gray and black - have managed to create a disgusting reputation for the entire family.

So why do people fight rats? Rats are rodents with strong, sharp incisors, which they use to chew on various objects. Every year these animals destroy millions of tons of valuable grain, eat eggs, domestic and songbirds, and spoil food in homes and on ships. Many fires occurred due to wicks, gas pipes, and electrical wiring chewed by rats. Water pipes damaged by them caused flooding in houses.

Rats damage floors and furniture. They can even gnaw through the walls of houses.

Do rats affect human life?

Rats spread dangerous diseases to humans and domestic animals. In the 14th century, there was a terrible epidemic of bourbon plague in Asia and Europe, which was nicknamed the Black Death. Millions of people died from this disease, more people than in all the wars in human history combined!

It was carried by rats that traveled with merchant ships. The disease was also carried by fleas that lived on rats.

In 1994, the plague appeared in India. During this epidemic, a huge number of people also died - at least half a million people. “Outbreaks” of the plague recur periodically. Rats spread not only plague, but also other diseases dangerous to humans, such as typhus, rabies and others.

Why is it difficult for a person to fight rats?

Rats can adapt to any conditions. The more food there is around a person, the better the life of rats. If bad times come for a person, rats “take care” of themselves: they devour each other.

There are as many rats in cities as there are people. In villages there are 3-4 rats for each person! Rats can climb walls, burrow into the ground, live indoors and outdoors, in dry and damp places. Rats eat everything. They can live anywhere.

Rats reproduce very quickly. A female can give birth to 10-14 cubs. And after 4 months they are ready to bring their own offspring!

So rats are scary both because of their numbers and their gluttony. Therefore, it is not yet possible to reduce their numbers. These are how smart animals are.

Rats are very resourceful, smart and cunning creatures.

• Rats drag chicken eggs into their holes. How do they do it? One rat lies on its back. He wraps his paws around an egg. Other rats pull her by the tail to their hole.
• Rats extract oil from a bottle with a narrow neck. They put their tails there and then lick them.
• Rats never touch poisoned baits. If one rat tries the poisoned bait, the rest of the rats wait to see whether their friend dies or not.
• Rats never go into traps. They can fool the most experienced rat catcher. They clearly remember what they should be wary of.
• Rats find their way in the most intricate labyrinths.
• Rats can deceive the most vigilant guard and get onto a ship if they want to travel and explore new lands. It is not difficult for a rat to climb onto the ship and go down to the shore using the ropes that attach the ship to the pier.
• One rat carried paper money of 10 rubles from a neighbor to its owner.
• In the Riga market they dug up a rat that was very, very fat and could not walk. All she did was give birth to baby rats. And the whole colony of rats fed her.
• Female rats can raise their young together. Mothers feed both their own and other people's babies. So, if one dies, the cubs will not be left without food and care.

Domestic decorative rats

Most species of rats are harmless and interesting animals. They have become popular pets and are specifically bred for this purpose.

Rats are friendly animals. They can become completely tame. Some owners even eat together with their rats at the same table.

Unlike mice, rats recognize their owners and even respond to nicknames.

We have a rat at home, Vaska. He is very affectionate. He loves to be picked up and scratched on the back of his neck and behind his ears. When we let him out of the cage, he happily rushes towards us and plays with us like a kitten.

When we went on vacation and left our Vaska with friends, he was very bored, especially the first two days - he didn’t even eat anything.

Territory development

When they brought Vaska home, they put him in a cage. It took him a day to get used to it. The next day they released him from the cage. But he turned out to be a coward. Vaska was afraid to leave her. But curiosity took over. He will run a little away from the cage and... I’ll pull him back. Gradually Vaska made his way further and further from his house. And a week later he was already running around the whole room. But he didn’t dare go beyond the threshold of the room. He will run up to the door, stick his head out of his territory, sniff - his whiskers in different directions - and... quickly, quickly run back to the cage or under the sofa.

A month later, Vaska began to make his way further than the room. But only if someone gets out of it, he runs after his legs. As soon as something scares him, he immediately runs back. He sits behind the door and looks out of the room. Several months passed until Vaska began to run calmly throughout the apartment.

During my research work, I carefully studied and observed the behavior of the rat and discovered a lot of interesting things.

Like rats running

The rat has short front legs. And the hind legs are long. That's why they run very funny. Pushing off with their hind legs, they seem to jump. It turns out that Vaska runs bouncing.

How he eats rats

Very similar to a squirrel. He takes a piece of food with his teeth. Shifts to the front paws, while sitting on the hind paws. And this is the picture. Vaska is sitting on his hind legs. It holds a piece of food with its short legs. And quickly, quickly bites with his front teeth and chews.

Clean animal

You can admire how Vaska washes herself for hours. He runs and runs, picks up different smells, sits down and begins to wash his face with his front paws first. Yes, so carefully!

Then behind the ears. Next - the belly: he will scratch with his paws, scratch along the fur, then he will wash the paws, then the fur again, then the paws... etc. And he washes himself sitting on his hind legs.

Then he moves to the back - first on one side, then on the other. And then under the tail is the tail itself. This is such an ambitious animal.

Weather forecast

Vaska loves to build a house from newspapers in his cage. Moreover, when he gets out of this house, the newspapers are not lying around. He even chews out the doors in it. But Vaska doesn’t always build a house.

If he sleeps spread out, even though there is a snowstorm outside, it means it will be warmer tomorrow. If Vaska builds a house overnight and sleeps hidden in it, it will definitely get colder, even if it’s hot today. We see this all the time.

Night Dweller

Yes, yes, yes! Vaska builds houses at night. He is generally a nocturnal resident. He sleeps during the day. And as soon as evening comes, he needs to run, play, and communicate with us. And at night it constantly rustles, strums... Sometimes it even interferes with sleep.

Creepy rodent

Everything would be just wonderful, but Vaska is a rodent. He constantly ruins something: a pillowcase, a sheet, a scarf, dad’s T-shirt, an extension cord, a chip from a board game, a cap from a bottle... And recently Vaska gnawed off Aunt Lily’s bag and boot in the most visible place. And there's nothing you can do about it. At least file down your teeth.

Features of the structure of teeth

Rats are rodents. They eat solid food. Therefore, their teeth have a special structure.

Rats have large, strong and sharp incisors. On the front they are covered with a thick layer of enamel. The incisors are constantly growing. They can grow 127 millimeters in a year. In order not to die, the rat must constantly grind its teeth.

She does this by grinding her teeth against her teeth. Or the rat must constantly chew something. That's why she ruins something all the time.

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