Welcome to part one of Rodents for Writers: Rats. Rats have been very significant in human society for millennia. From beloved pets to laboratories to the Black Death, rats are everywhere. So, get comfortable while I tell you everything you need to know about rats.
Biology of Rats
Rats are mammals in the Order Rodentia, the sub-order Myomorpha: the mouse-like rodents. The larger of the mouse-like rodents, rats can reach up to 500g or larger. The best known species are the black rat (Rattus rattus) and the brown rat (Rattus norvegicus). The average lifespan for wild rats is one year, however domestic rats usually live two to three years.
Teeth
A characteristic of all rodents is their front teeth. Basically, the open-rooted pairs of incisors continue to grow throughout the animal’s lifetime. They are kept in check by chewing and gnawing. Rats have no canine teeth, and a set of premolars and molars that do not continually grow. The space between the incisors and molars is called the diastema.
Senses
Rats have extremely sensitive hearing and sense of smell. On the other hand, their vision is poor and they have red-green colourblindness. They see into the ultraviolet spectrum, however, beyond what humans can see.
Body
Rats have stocky bodies, with fur covering most of them except the ears, paws and tail. The tail functions for temperature regulation and balance. They are good climbers, swimmers and burrowers. Their front paws are prehensile and are used to hold food, although they don’t have opposable thumbs.
Diet
Rats are true omnivores and can eat just about anything. Cereals, insects and small animals are the mainstay but rats in urban spaces eat discarded and stored human food. In rural places they often break into livestock food stores. Many people employ cats to control rat populatons.
Reproduction
Rats breed quickly, capable of producing five litters per year. They reach sexual maturity at six weeks old and the average is seven pups per litter. Gestation is 21 days and the female can get pregnant again immediately after giving birth.
Social
Rats are very social creatures and live in colonies, basically a large group. They sleep together, groom each other and play together. People keep rats as pets and they are affectionate, trainable and entertaining to keep. For this reason, they should live in a small group, called a mischief.
Human Uses For Rats
Laboratory rats are common, especially in the field of medical research. They work in efforts to find mines and explosives. Rats are trained easily and can act and take part in animal-assisted therapy.
Rats in Society
Pests
Rats are a common urban pest infesting houses, buildings and infrastructure. Consequently, they can live off discarded and stored food and are strong swimmers. Urban rats lose their fear of humans too, and are challenging to eliminate once they are established.
Invasive Species
The worst invasive species, rats have been stowaways on ships for as long as humans have been sailing the seas and oceans. Rats contributed to the extinction of many species of wildlife, both plant and animal. Antartica is the only continent to be free of rats.
Spread of Disease
Rats carry infectious diseases that can be passed on to other species, they are zoonotic vectors.
Bubonic Plague
A plague by any other name, you may have heard of the Black Death, the Black Plague. The worst pandemic in world history. The bacteria Yersinia pestis causes the plague and rats, and their fleas, played a huge role in spreading it. Rats are not the only factor, though, but they are the most commonly associated with the Black Death of the Middle Ages.
Leptospirosis
Leptospirosis, alternatively known as Weil’s disease, is a serious bacterial infection. It causes jaundice, kidney failure, meningitis and bleeding in the lungs. Rats shed Leptospira in their urine. Leptospirosis is an important zoonotic disease for humans and dogs. For this reason, we vaccinate dogs against Leptospirosis in the UK routinely.
Rats in Culture
Asian Cultures: China
The first of twelve animals in the Chinese Zodiac is the rat. When people born in the year of the rat, they are associated with creativity, intelligence, honesty, generosity, ambition, a quick temper and wastefulness.
India
Rats are the vehicle of Ganesha: a patron of the arts and sciences, remover of obstacles and a bringer of good luck. Consequently, a temple of Ganesh always has a rat statue in it.
European Cultures
Rats generally have negative associations, largely because of the association with the Black Death in the 14th century. ‘Rats!’ is used as a mild curse word in the UK. Similarly, calling someone a rat is an insult, implying dishonesty and being untrustworthy. To ‘rat on someone’ means to betray them by informing on them.
However, pet rats are common in the UK and are beloved by those who keep them. Myself included. I have cared for many rats over my veterinary career and kept some myself. The downside is their short lifespans.
Rats in Fiction
Due to their associations with disease and dirt, rats accordingly play a negative role in many fictional works. They have been used as villains in animation, used as an evil entity by H.P. Lovecraft and as a torture method by George Orwell. Another example is Templeton, the rat character in Charlotte’s Web, shows selfishness and self-serving tendencies.
Conversely, positive rat characters do exist in fiction. For example, Rizzo the Rat from the Muppets, Remy from Ratatouille and Master Splinter in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. It’s nice to see rats get some good press for once.
The Pied Piper of Hamelin story in particular, tells of a man who led the rats away from a town with enchanted pipe music. When the town refused to pay him, he led their children away as well. This story is associated with the Black Death.
Rats undoubtedly symbolise disease, filth and death in a lot of fiction. Crime and dishonesty is a common theme as well. The Bible describes rats as ‘unclean’ in Leviticus. However, rats symbolise cunning and resourcefulness as well.
As I have said, rats are intelligent creatures and learn quickly. They are inquisitive and entertaining to watch. They get a bad rap because of the Plague, however this reputation is largely undeserved. Rats deserve a shift in perspective, I think.
Every Friday we will have another creature feature. This month’s theme is Rodents for Writers. Rats are often maligned by society. Next week, we’ll be talking about mice. If you missed last month, we discussed snakes. You can read that here.
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