Rats are always eager live near a person, "from the table" of which they willingly reinforce themselves, not disdaining any products.
Being put in the same conditions - depriving a person of the opportunity to use technical achievements - animals have good chances to beat us in a fight for survival.
Rodent appearance
Redhead
The color of the fur of the red rat from gray with brownish-red tint varying degrees of intensity, to almost black (color affects temperature, habitat, food).
The back is much darker colored than the belly. The body is compact, up to 25 cm in some old individuals. The muzzle is short, dull, wide, with a pair of black eyes-beads.
Ears are pink short, oval, have a fur covering from short pile from the outside, but almost bare from the inside.
Grayish-pink length tail significantly less than the length of the body (one of the main landmarks, allowing to distinguish by eye the red rat or Pasyuk from the black rat).
The limbs are short with pink legs, the pads are small. All paws with separately located tenacious fingers. Front feet much shorter than hind.
There are small membranes between the fingers of the hind limbs. On all fingers on one sharp claw.
Black rat
The color of black rats does not always correspond to the name of the species. In addition to animals with saturated fur graphite gray, there are animals with red, light gray color of the skins.
The fur on the belly is lighter in color than the entire skin, has a yellowish tint.
Maximum size of an adult individual - 23 cm. Tail length exceeds - sometimes significantly - torso length.
The eyes are black, small and shiny.
The ears are thin, large, closer to a rounded shape, beige-pink and almost bare, with sparse short fur.
Limbs short, hind legs longer than the front. Fingers separately located, tenacious, with a sharp claw on each.
A photo
Then you can visually see the red rat in the photo:
And, of course, the photo of black rats:
Distribution and reproduction
The vitality and adaptability of red rats allowed them to settle in all corners of the planetexcept for arid desert and arctic regions.
They prefer to settle closer to human habitation, while choosing places with obligatory water source.
Little animals extremely fertile. For the year, the female can give three offspring with a litter up to 20 viable cubs. Juveniles become able to breed from three months of age.
The black rat also has a wide habitat, but prefers a place with a warm climate. It is found in all regions of the continent, except for the Arctic and desert.
Reproduction is less active than in the Pasyuk due to the smaller number of pups in the litters - up to 6 rats. In a year, an adult female becomes pregnant 2-3 times.
Lifestyle
The redhead has the most active activity begins at dusk and night. In a situation of lack of food, rodents are active at any time of the day.
Red rat:
- Extremely intelligent animal with intelligence (this allows it to live next to a person without special harm to health, even with active methods of dealing with it).
- Capable of cannibalism with a lack of food (this ability is used to obtain rat catchers from among his fellow tribesmen).
- It has good jumping ability (jump height - up to 70 cm, length - up to one and a half meters).
- Well tamed.
- Vindictive.
The black rat is a twilight and nocturnal animal.
Resistant to toxic substances.
Unlike the Pasyuk, the individuals of the black species less savvy and not so brave. But they are much higher in intellectual development than other rodents.
Harm to a man-farmer
IMPORTANT! Any types of rodents can be carriers of dangerous infectious diseases (leptospirosis, plague, rabies).
Losses of farmers from rats at all times differ inspirational dimensions:
- Both species of rodents harm agricultural crops at any stage of plant development (especially when there is a shortage of other food).
- Eating the bark of trees threatens the vitality of the gardens.
- Adult individuals hunt young poultry, with pleasure feed on eggs.
- Physically spoil the harvest of grain, vegetables, fruits, pollute the stored products with excreta (they feed on any kind of food suitable for humans).
- Gnawing through the container, increase the loss of products during transportation, storage.
- India - 750 million rupees.
- USA - 300 million d annually.
- Denmark - 10 million crowns.
- United Kingdom - 15 million fs
Ways to protect
As soon as the presence of rodents is detected, to hunt them need to start immediately.
Methods of struggle:
- poisons
- mechanical traps
- ultrasonic scarers
- a staff of adult cats with good hunting skills,
- facilitating the settlement of a representative of a raptor nearby,
- fight against dumps (preventive procedure),
- training of the Pied Piper from the rows of the rodents themselves.
Once seen, an individual needs to try as much as possible. faster catch.
Otherwise, soon she will try to acquire numerous offspring or show her relatives where it is possible to live well and for a long time with relative comfort.
The small size of the rats does not prevent them joking to capture the spotted corners near the person’s housing.
