The Norway Rat

By Al Lowe
Contributor

This mammal is surely one of nature's most disgusting animals. It causes billions of dollars worth of damage, it is often linked in peoples' minds with garbage and filth, it carries diseases, and seems to have few, if any, redeeming qualities. It is considered by many biologists to be the single most dangerous species, as far as man is concerned.
The term Norway rat is not a very good name. It did not originate in Norway at all, but in Asia. It was first classified and accurately described in Norway, so the Norwegians are stuck with the dubious honour of having this evil animal named after them.
It is the common brown rat of city, farm, household and refuse dump. The rat arrived in America just about the time of the American Revolution and has since spread to almost every habitable part of the continent. There are no native rats in Northern Ontario.
Rats destroy a tremendous amount of property each year, principally, but not entirely foodstuffs. They eat almost anything - grain and vegetable matter, eggs, young chickens and birds, the young of other mammals. They have been known to attack young pigs, calves and human children. They will chew into wood, leather, plaster, electric wiring, lead pipes and even concrete. They make elaborate tunnels in the earth, and I have known them to kill pigeons and bantam chickens.
Much of the damage they do is in the spoiling of food, particularly of grain. In one area of the States, over 40% of stored grain was contaminated by rats. In another state, less than 5% of marketed corn was free of rat and mouse filth. Chemists have found a high percentage of rat hairs in canned food. Rat urine has caused huge losses in such goods as flour, sugar and animal feeds. Estimates of damage in the U.S. alone run from $300 million to over a billion dollars annually.
Rats are notorious disease carriers. They were instrumental in spreading the famous plagues in Europe. Between themselves and the fleas which they also carry they spread bubonic plague, typhus, jaundice, trichinosis, tapeworm, rabies, mange, distemper and tuberculosis, to name a few. Would you really welcome this visitor to your home?
Fortunately, rats are preyed upon by owls, hawks, foxes, weasels, the large snakes, coyotes and many other animals. Many small dogs, especially the terriers, are very effective in killing rats. Contrary to popular opinion, however, your average house cat will be very leery about attacking a full grown rat.
Is there anything good about this animal, Rattus norvegicus? Only one very small thing. The placid white rats which are used so much for research work in science and medicine are an albino strain of the same species. And that's about if for the good things.
We derive very little good from this animal, which is really one of the world's worst scourges.