Rats: Misunderstood Urban Survivors

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This chapter explores the intriguing world of urban rats, sharing amusing anecdotes and their unique adaptations for survival in city environments. It delves into their anatomy, behaviors, and public misconceptions regarding disease transmission, while highlighting the potential benefits of rodents, such as the Gambian pouch rat in landmine detection. Through a blend of humor and factual insights, the narrative encourages a more nuanced understanding of these often-maligned creatures.

Let’s kick off Spooktober with… RATS: They love pizza. They invade taquerias at midnight. They scurry. They cuddle. They outsmart. They inspire movies that inspire musicals. Proving that not just woodsy megafauna can be charismatic, rats have lives we would never suspect. Globally-lauded Urban Rodentologist Dr. Robert Corrigan, or Bobby if you like, has been studying these animals in their big-city ecosystem for decades and he is a wonder-filled joy. Learn about rats’ origin story, the difference between a rat and a mouse, where they live, their preferred “food dialects,” and how to (hopefully humanely) keep one out of your house -- or car? Might as well start to love and respect them, because we’re not-too-distantly related and one day… they may be steering the ship.

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A donation went to the Yash Gandhi Foundation