While some species of rodents may be scary to some people and have a bad reputation, rats are very intelligent and make great pets if cared for properly. Rats are naturally curious, have good memories and are easy to learn. By understanding how smart a rat is, you can more fully appreciate these tiny rodents, keep them safe, and give them the mental stimulation they need.
Peculiarities of thinking of rats
Until recently, it was believed that the thinking of humans and the most intelligent representatives of the animal world are completely different. A person can identify the true essence of things and acts in accordance with Bayesian logic. He builds an initial hypothesis, and then, based on promptly arriving data, checks and corrects it. An animal, as scientists insisted, can think solely by association.
Not long ago, based on a number of experiments and studies on how rats think, a group of scientists from different countries came to the conclusion that they are capable of thinking logically.
The experiment confirming these data was carried out as follows:
- Several dozen laboratory rats took part in the experiment. The goal was to form an association “signal = food” in them. At the first stage, the rodents turned on the light and gave a sound signal, after which the feeder was filled with syrup;
- The second stage involved the rejection of one of the associative signals – light. The animals responded to the sound signal and looked for food in the feeder;
- The next stage was more complex: a sound lever was installed in the cage, which the rats could press independently. If we assume that they think according to the associative series “sound - light - food”, then the source of the sound would not be important to the rats, and after pressing the lever they would look for food in the feeder. However, this did not happen. Smart rats immediately realized that the sound they themselves caused was not a consequence of the light signal, and accordingly, no food would appear in the feeder.
Thus, it was proven that rats can see the real cause of a particular event, distinguishing it from a number of associatively related phenomena . These animals are not just smarter than a dog or a cat, they can be placed on a par with primates.
The settlement of the Ark has begun
How can we explain such a rapid development of rat civilization? There is no clear answer to this. Any suggestions. Allegedly, in the thirties of the last century, closed biological research was carried out on the territory of the Soviet Union, where the main object was rats. They shocked scientists so much with their mental abilities that, realizing the threat posed by them, they decided to destroy the superintelligent Pasyuks. But when they came to the laboratory to carry out their plan, they did not find any rats in the cages. Gray intellectuals with extrasensory abilities, sensing danger, gnawed long passages in the walls, where concrete was mixed with broken glass, and went free!
Imagine this picture: a bunch of people managed to escape after a cataclysm deep underground. Several decades later, making sure that the waters of the next flood had subsided, people began to climb to the surface, and there they were met by rats. And not just rats, but those who are able to live under water, gnaw tunnels in rock, demonstrate the effect of levitation, teleport, communicate with each other telepathically, and most importantly - live in harmony with nature!
I think they will put unfortunate people in cages and conduct experiments on them, as people did with them in their time. No, this is not a horror movie script, but rather a real perspective!
At the beginning of May I received a call from the village of Tevriz, Omsk region. Something incredible was observed there: thousands of rats migrated in continuous streams from south to north! While people are arguing and wondering: should they believe or not the prophecy of Edgar Cayce, who predicted that Western Siberia is destined to become new - land! - The Ark of Humanity... rats have already begun to inhabit this Ark.
Rats communicating with each other
In the early 2000s, German scientists actively studied the intellectual abilities of rats. Using ultra-sensitive equipment, the entire range of sounds that rodents make when communicating with each other was listened to. For 7 minutes, the device recorded all the sounds made by two rodents during the “conversation.” As a result, each of the rats made at least 500 different sounds.
Only a small fraction of these sounds are accessible to human hearing. During the experiment, it was found that rats make up to 5,000 different sounds : not every person can boast of such a “vocabulary”.
Can rats express emotions?
As part of a large-scale research work by biologists from the University of Bern, it was discovered that not only humans and primates can express emotions: rats are capable of expressing sympathy and empathy.
This was proven in the following way:
- During the experiment, 2 rats were housed together for a long time so that the animals became attached to each other;
- One of the rodents was locked in a special cage with a lid that could only be opened from the outside. This cage was placed inside a larger cage that contained a second rodent;
- Having quickly figured out how to open the lock, the “cellmate” freed his neighbor. Moreover, if the small cage was empty or there was a stuffed rat in it, the rodent did not show interest in it.
- It is noteworthy that even when a container with food was placed next to a small cage, the rodent first freed its neighbor and then shared food with him.
Rats have a sense of humor. This was first proven by American researcher Jack Panksepp. He discovered that while playing, rats made special sounds of ultra-high frequency, similar to laughter. Rodents made similar sounds when tickled, as well as when observing the ridiculous antics of other rats.
Rats are capable of regretting wrong actions. This was proven in an experiment in which the animal was given 4 feeders to choose from, each of which contained an attractive treat. Having made the wrong choice, the rat mentally replays the situation and regrets that it did not choose a different option.
While completing the puzzle, the rat is connected to a special device that records its brain activity.
Freaky animals
The main battle between man and rats took place in Asia.
Cold Europe fought mainly against much less heat-loving mice, and European rat species generally stayed away from humans. Between Europeans and Asian rats, black and gray, there lay barriers that were insurmountable for these rodents in the form of winter steppes on one side, hot, humid jungles on the other, sultry deserts on the third. So for some time, the fascinating business of butting with rats fell only on the lot of Chinese, Indian and neighboring civilizations. But with the development of shipbuilding and the intensification of trade on the Great Silk Road, Asian rodents have good tourism prospects. The Great European Rat Tour has begun. The first to set off on the journey was the black rat, the main inhabitant of Central Asia. Behind her came the Gray (Pasyuk), which had long controlled China. The rats reached Constantinople, gradually moving from caravanserai to caravanserai with cargo. They descended from the ships along with the crusaders returning home after capturing the Holy Sepulcher.
They arrived in Genoa and Venice in bales of silk and bags of spices. The black one got there first, and it turned out to be a disaster. Because it carried its own passengers - Asian fleas, who carried in their digestive systems the third category of tourists - plague bacilli.
Let us quote a passage from the above-mentioned book “On Rats and Mice”:
“The black rat, most closely associated with dwellings, has done a disservice to humanity. Ancient manuscripts of the peoples of different countries describe plague epidemics quite similarly. Everywhere it was preceded by the death of rats. This is also noted in the Hebrew religious books of the 13th century BC. e., and in the ancient sacred poem in Sanskrit, and in the ancient poem “The Death of Rats”, written by the Chinese Shi Taoyang, who died from the plague. This poem contains the following lines: “A few days after the death of the rats, people fall like collapsed walls.” Most often, port cities suffered from the plague. The first plague epidemic attested by historians began in Lower Egypt in the port of Pelusium, and it came from Ethiopia.
In Egypt, the epidemic lasted for about forty years, and tens of millions of people died from it. Where there was a port, only two sand hills remain. The Black Death also raged later on the African, Asian and European continents. In Western Europe, from 1345 to 1350, over 43 million people died from the plague. Italy and France, England and Greece are coastal states, and here the port cities were primarily affected. Developing maritime connections accelerated the spread of the disease to different parts of the world. Ship rats and their fleas, falling ashore, carried the infection to London, Marseille, Constantinople, Venice and other European cities.”
People noticed the connection between rats and plague very quickly. And the fear of these animals, the feeling of deepest disgust for them intensified many times over, and penetrated into literature and painting. Rats were classified as “the beasts of hell, the companions of Satan,” they were anathematized at church councils, and the curse “rat” entered all the languages of Europe.
More than 43 million people died from the plague in Western Europe
Salvation came in the form of the same rats. Pasyuk, the gray rat, who had also seen both Paris and London by that time, put an end to mass epidemics by expelling her infectious competitor, the black rat, from large cities as much as possible. Pasyuk himself was much more resistant to the plague, but an important role was also played by the fact that, although he lived in cities, he was much more misanthropic than a black rat. If black rats preferred to live right in human dwellings, preferably in attics, had little fear of people and scurried under their feet at any time of the day or night, then the pasyuk, hiding in basements and cesspools, tried not to approach people and had minimal contact with them. And although the pasyuks are still perfectly capable of infecting people with a dozen other diseases (for example, pseudotuberculosis, rat typhus, trichinosis), they were able to save us from the plague. Black rats are still found in cities, but they have become much more timid and cautious. No, they are still not afraid of people, but pasyuki...
Do rats dream?
Breeders of domestic rats often noted that in their sleep their pets chew and move their paws, imitating running. For a long time, questions about what a rat can think about and whether it dreams remained open. New research by American scientist Matthew Wilson has shown that rodents dream: they reflect their daily experiences .
During the experiment, the activity of the rats' hypothalamus, the region of the brain responsible for memories, was recorded. The study was carried out in 2 stages:
- Stage 1 – study of brain activity during the passage of the maze (at the end of the test the rodent will receive a reward - a treat);
- Stage 2 – study of brain activity during sleep.
It turned out that during sleep the rats' brains showed the same activity as during the passage of the maze. Based on this, the scientist suggested that the rat was dreaming of a walk through the maze.
Taming Ability
Smart rats are very easy to tame. It's hard to believe, but they don't like being alone. The wild animal is reluctant to make contact, but over time it quickly gets used to the person and literally follows on his heels.
Taming must be handled responsibly. There is no need to rush, as psychological pressure on an intelligent animal can provoke stress and other health problems.
First, the animal needs to create a secret corner in the cage so that it can hide if it wants. And it is better to place the house in a place where he can often see people. This way the taming process will go faster.
At first, you should not touch the rodent with your hands. He must get used to the owner and show a desire to make contact. You can talk to him and treat him with treats. Once your smart pet gets used to it, you can play with it or train it.
Practical application of rat intelligence
Without a doubt, a keen mind and adaptability to any conditions ensure rats' survival in the wild.
At the same time, a person can widely use rat intelligence for his own purposes:
- For laboratory research . The rat is the most popular laboratory test object. This is primarily due to the fact that the genetic similarity between rats and humans is more than 70%. It is most effective to test drugs on rats: if they are effective for a rodent, they will also work for humans;
- In search work: trained rats help search for drugs and explosives . A team of two instructors and a rat will neutralize an area the size of a hectare in an hour, while an experienced sapper will need several days. Thanks to its light weight, the rat is not blown up by a mine, and its excellent sense of smell helps it sniff out grenades, mines and even cartridges at a meter distance. At the moment, experiments with clearing minefields with the help of rats are being carried out in Tanzania. The experiment is supervised by scientist Christoph Cox;
- Rats sense the danger of collapse in mines and can be used by miners as a detector (not proven, but widespread among miners).
In addition, the rat is an excellent pet. Tamed rats are no worse than dogs or cats: they are perfectly trainable, carry out a variety of commands, remember and respond to nicknames.
Before execution
Already in Nizhnevartovsk, working with the diaries of political prisoner Mark Ivanovich Klabukov, I came across an episode telling how a certain Kostya Maslov, sentenced to death, spent more than a month on death row, waiting every day for the execution of the sentence. Kostya told a semi-mystical story about these days.
“The day after the verdict was pronounced,” Kostya said, “a rat appeared in the cell. I couldn’t eat anything and so I gave all my food to her. She got used to it and stopped being afraid of me. I waited from hour to hour for the execution of the sentence and hardly slept, especially at night, endlessly walked around the cell or lay in some kind of sensitive semi-oblivion. A month passed like this. And then one day, when I was in this strange half-asleep, the rat appeared again at night and immediately jumped onto my bed. She ran all over me and squeaked excitedly all the time. Her squeak sounded either sad or joyful - I still couldn’t understand what exactly. After spinning like this for a minute or two, she ran away. “Today I will be shot, and the rat came running to say goodbye to me,” I thought. And indeed, a little time passed when loud footsteps were heard in the corridor. The key rattled in the lock, and four guards appeared on the threshold of the cell. “Get your things,” one of them ordered. Two took my hands, the third walked in front, the fourth - behind. I was in some kind of split state; it seemed to me that they were not leading me, but someone else. And I even saw from the side how they were leading him.
Finally, they led me into an office building and then they announced that Mikhail Ivanovich Kalinin, by personal order, replaced my execution with ten years in prison. I collapsed on the floor." It turns out that the rat somehow incomprehensibly learned that Kostya was no longer in danger of death, and tried to convey this good news to him! And not only. She made it clear to the man that she was sad to part with him.
