About rats

About rats
There are two main species of Greensboro rat that humans come into contact with, the first is the black rat which has
a lifespan of around 12 months the second is the Brown rat which is a lifespan of two years, these are for the
wild rats. Rats vary in size but most adults are 10 to 16 inches nose to tail and they can weigh up to a pound.
Rats have incredibly strong teeth, they've been known to chew through glass, cinderblocks, aluminium and lead.
They have generally poor eyesight but their sense of smell, taste, touch and hearing are all excellent.
I know history paints Greensboro rats as pretty nasty creatures as they were credited with spreading the bubonic plague, usually
called the Black Death in the history books. The rats did not spread bubonic plague, the fleas the North Carolina rats carried into
human dwellings spread bubonic plague, so even if the rats did bring them in they were not directly responsible for
spreading the plague. One disease that is linked with rats and they are responsible for helping its spread is foot
and mouth disease.
As far back as the late 19th century people started breeding brown Greensboro rats as pets, these rats depending on how many generations
they've been bred as pets now behave absolutely nothing like their wild counterparts and they also pose no more of a health risk
than a cat or a dog. They are quite intelligent, they learned their name and they can also learn a repertoire of entertaining tricks.
In the last 20 years at least one species of rat has become very helpful to humans, this is the giant African rat and they have taught
these North Carolina rats find and mark land mines in the ground, because of their light weight they do not set off the mines when searching for them.
One little-known fact about rats that I found amazing is that they can swim for three days before they drown. When rats are happy and
playing they make off a sound very similar to human laughter. I know most people think of rats is dirty animals, the fact is they are
one of the cleanest animals in nature, considerably cleaner than the average North Carolina house cat.
To look at a Greensboro rat I doubt he would actually think that they are one of the best climbers in nature, they climbing ability mainly comes
from the balance their tail gives them. The main habit they have which makes them great pets is a sleep for over three quarters of all
daylight hours.