# Rats free each other from traps, then share chocolate



## Fuscus (Dec 10, 2011)

I've always suspected that they are in fact a race of hyper-intelligent pan-dimensional beings  

Rats free each other from traps, then share chocolate - life - 08 December 2011 - New Scientist


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## abnrmal91 (Dec 10, 2011)

Wow that's pretty cool. Still a tasty snack for my snakes, another rat won't help get them out of that trap lol


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## benjamind2010 (Dec 10, 2011)

Rats are indeed very intelligent creatures. Makes me feel bad about all the rats that are killed either through poisoning or for food for carnivores, but alas such is life.


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## Nighthawk (Dec 10, 2011)

As if I needed a reason to feel worse about culling. Thanks Fuscus lol, now I'm going to be apologising to all their mates as well haha


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## Fuscus (Dec 10, 2011)

Nighthawk said:


> Thanks Fuscus lol,


If it is any consolation, I feel bad when I have a graduation ceremony, and feel even worse when the graduates are pink.
However, that is what life is like at that end of the food chain, life fast, die young and have a gruesome corpse.


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## Nighthawk (Dec 10, 2011)

Too true. I console myself with the knowledge that we cull humanely though, and keep them well, so they have a good little life before they go to sleep.
Besides, if it's a choice between an empathic chocolate-sharing rodent and one of our pythons I'm sorry to say that it's time to cut down on the choc bro; you'll make my snake fat...


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## abnrmal91 (Dec 10, 2011)

Fuscus that's worthy as a signature lol


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## slide (Dec 10, 2011)

I have witnessed a large group of sea gulls come to the aid of an injured comrade. It was quite unbelievable considering that they seem to squabble almost all of the time.


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## KaotikJezta (Dec 10, 2011)

Rats are amazing little creatures and I feel so guilty feeding them to my snakes. I would never have another pet rat, they live such a short time but have so much love to share in that little lifespan. They are definitely a lot smarter than the snakes we feed them to. My pet rat was my best friend and I could never bring myself to cull rats myself, people that consider them just rodents have never spent time with them on an owner/pet level. I was warned having one would be hard as they are so aware and then it's all over so quickly, it was heartbreaking to lose my little guy.


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## Leasdraco (Dec 10, 2011)

Would like to have pet rats but they wouldnt be fans of our current housemates,3 cats plus (soon...) a python.


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## GeckoJosh (Dec 10, 2011)

Leasdraco said:


> Would like to have pet rats but they wouldnt be fans of our current housemates,3 cats plus (soon...) a python.



I have all 3


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## cement (Dec 10, 2011)

Your giving them way too much credit here. 

I caught one in a rat trap in my roof once and its mates came along and ate it. Ripped it apart full canabilsation with guts and blood strewn from one end of the roof to the other. Smart?? Yeah smart enough to grab a free easy feed on their downed comrade!


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## GeckoJosh (Dec 10, 2011)

cement said:


> Your giving them way too much credit here.
> 
> I caught one in a rat trap in my roof once and its mates came along and ate it. Ripped it apart full canabilsation with guts and blood strewn from one end of the roof to the other. Smart?? Yeah smart enough to grab a free easy feed on their downed comrade!



But was the rat dead?


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## Chris1 (Dec 10, 2011)

lol, makes me wonder about teh mums who eat their own litters too,...


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## pyrodarknessanny (Dec 10, 2011)

intresting, reminds me of a book " the Amazing Maurice and his educated rodents" 
by Terry Pratchett
its more a kids story but quite intresting. 
its like a spinn off of the "pided pipper" but from the Rats P.o.V


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## KaotikJezta (Dec 10, 2011)

Mothers of all breeds of animals eat there own young, wow, even dogs and cats. They usually do it, it is believed, if the young is perceived as having a slim chance of being healthy or they lack the nutrition to sustain the young. Same reason that an animal is rejected by the mother. You also can't compare the behaviour of wild rats to domestic/lab rats, assuming the rats you were trapping were wild, and as someone else asked, was the rat in the trap dead.


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## Herpaderpa (Dec 10, 2011)

cement said:


> Your giving them way too much credit here.
> 
> I caught one in a rat trap in my roof once and its mates came along and ate it. Ripped it apart full canabilsation with guts and blood strewn from one end of the roof to the other. Smart?? Yeah smart enough to grab a free easy feed on their downed comrade!



Its in between.
Just like people, rats 'personalities' vary, some don't give a **** about others. Sometimes they will finish off a severely wounded/ill mate... or consume the bodies of the dead.

But on the whole, rats are social and intelligent and do aid each other in survival as a matter of instinct... there is strength in numbers.

However I think this article does go a bit too far... I have not once in my entire time keeping rats witness one willingly "share" food with anything other than juvenile individuals. In fact, if you watch them with a tasty morsel, they horde it, they try to steal from each other and desperately try to keep their treats safe from other rats.

The rat releasing the other rat was probably mostly out of curiosity at what the other rat is doing in this tube. The fact that occasionally they opened the traps even when there were no rats inside shows its not specific to a trapped rat.

Seems like dodgy findings to me anyway. They are social animals, no doubt. I just think the idea of them being highly empathetic and sharing is a bit far fetched. 

However they show about as much empathy as humans do. You choose whether thats saying they have enormous empathy or almost none at all. lol I know which I meant by it  Looking at the way we treat each other and the world around us... yeaaah...


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## cement (Dec 10, 2011)

Geckoman said:


> But was the rat dead?



Oh yeah, it was dead alright.

Reminded me of a funny cartoon t shirt I had once which had a rat with its head caught in a trap, and its butt sticking up in the air, with one of its mates......weeell you get the picture, and others lining up for their turn!!


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