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"Anything like the sound of a rat
Makes my heart go pit-a-pat!"
--Robert Browning, "The Pied Piper of Hamelin"
with excitement, that is!
On the Chinese calendar from February 7th, 2008 to January 25th, 2009, the Year of the Rat was observed!
In China, the rat is a respected intuitive creature, synonymous with courage and an enterprising character. Rats know how to come up with solutions, take care of themselves and others without problems.
So, what is a rat, exactly?
from Funk & Wagnalls Standard College Dictionary, 1963
"destructive and injurious?" Describes the human race quite nicely too, me thinks.
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Okay, rats can be scary...
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...but the common rat, when you consider him, is quite an ordinary little creature, measuring about 10 inches from its nose to the base of its tail and weighing in at less than a pound.
...like an underfed squirrel, right?
Not only are they beloved pets but rats have been used in countless medical experiments to, in the long run, help us live longer and healthier lives.
Obviously, we're not talking about pets or lab rats here, though. We're talking about city rats. In fact, we're talking about two distinct species that live very closely with us, the Norway (or brown) rat and the roof (or black) rat. In Canada, it's mostly Norways as roof rats live in the southern US states. These two species are dubbed "commensal" (from the French) which literally means that they share our rooms, or share our tables. Like it or not, rats are one of our closet companions.
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The lovely print is by Socar Myles, a true rat enthusiast. Visit her website. |
But rats didn't always populate the world...
Despised and loved (mostly despised) around the globe, rats live practically everywhere now.
"In fact, [the rat] has conquered the world," wrote Hans Zimmer in Rats, Lice and History. "Only the extreme cold of Greenland does not seem to attract it. Unlike the Eskimo, it has had the good sense, whenever introduced to the Arctic regions, to wander southward at the first opportunity."
And how did this come to be? Roof rats evolved in India. Norways in northeastern China. They hitch-hiked around the world with human travellers, the first roof rats reaching Europe in ships carrying soldiers home from the Crusades, the first Norways in about 1700. Then off to North America around 1755 with the first settlers.
to learn more, read Rats: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly by Richard Conniff
Humans are responsible for their immigration! And we've helped them become one of the widest spread animals on the planet! No wonder they like to share our living spaces....
And Paris has LOTS of ideal living spaces!
These pages created by Karen Waschinski
Questions? Comments? Please e-mail me at woosel[at]total.net
~~Dà Fhaol Mharbh: A Vampyre's Faerytale by Karen Waschinski (with Debra Yee)~~
