Page 38 - World of Animals - Issue #41

Rat

Never underestimate the common rat
Whether you love or loathe rats, there’s no
denying their phenomenal survival skills.
These rodents are made of tough stuff:
they’ve been known to survive getting
flushed down the toilet and falling from

heights equivalent to five stories. Rats can

also survive the nuclear fallout from atomic
bombs, as witnessed in roof rats on the
nuclear testing ground of Enewetak Atoll.
The rat’s anatomy seems designed to
inhabit almost any environment – it is able
to swim in open ocean, climb vertical walls,
leap several times its body length, and bite

through thick concrete or metal to find a
safe place to live.
It’s therefore no surprise that humans

find it difficult to keep rats out of their

homes. The cunning critters might scale
your walls and sneak through cracks in the
roof, gnaw through narrow holes in your
brickwork or arrive in your toilet bowl by
swimming through sewage pipes.
But before you begin your anti-rat
crusade, consider that these rodents are
also some of the most intelligent and
affectionate animals around. Pet rats love
to play with their owners – like dogs, they
can learn their names and be taught tricks.
African giant pouched rats have even been
trained to sniff out human hazards, from
land mines to tuberculosis.
BELOW Thanks

to their flexible
bodies, rats are
able to squeeze
into tiny spaces
with ease

Gannets are capable of
pursuing their prey to
depths of 12 metres (40 feet)

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