Humane Education: Rats 1

Rats have personalities, and they can be glum or cheerful depending on their upbringing and circumstances. One study showed that rats accustomed to good times tend to be optimists, while those reared in unstable conditions become pessimists. Both rats will learn to associate one sound with a good event a gift of food and another sound with no food, but when exposed to an ambiguous sound, the optimist will run over expecting to be fed and the pessimist will grumble and skulk away, expecting nothing.

Rats love to laugh, specially young rats. Scientists say giggling, ticklish rats have provided them with the first evidence that animals unrelated to humans can laugh. Scientists Jaak Panksepp and Jeffrey Burgdorf, of Bowling Green State University in Ohio have discovered that rats "laugh" when tickled. Rat laughter consists of high-pitched, chirping whistles, outside the range of human hearing. They found that young rats chirp vigorously during rough-and-tumble play sessions and that they chirped more than their older relatives when tickled. 

According to the scientists, this fits in with the idea that children are more ticklish than adults. Mr Panksepp told New Scientist magazine: " They clearly have a sense of fun. Keeping rats laughing isn't difficult. They're small, of course, but it's really no different than running your fingers as if you're tickling a child.You get the most laughter at the nape of the neck, where they direct each other's play behavior. When they play together its like a children’s playground" Rats register their gratitude with little nips.

They are as choosy as us with food. They like variety and pick around their food, eating the tastiest parts first, and separating out what they dislike. Tt’s a myth that rats like cheese, in fact they are lactose intolerant or allergic to cheese

While in the west rats are considered pests, eastern cultures are far more tolerant and respectful of all life. The Egyptians deified them. In Imperial Chinese culture, the rat is the first of the twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac. People born in this year are expected to possess qualities associated with rats. These include creativity, honesty, generosity, ambition, a quick temper . They are noted for their charm and attraction for the opposite sex.. 

In the Indian pantheon of Gods , the rat is the vehicle of Lord Ganesh and a rat’s statue is always found in a temple of Ganesh. In fact, in the northwestern city of Deshnoke, in the Karni Mata Temple, the rats are held to be destined for reincarnation as Sadhus. The priests feed milk and grain to both pilgrims and animals. Eating food that has been touched by rats is considered a blessing from god.

Those who have kept rats as companions will tell you how much they loved them and what they learned from them, just like a dog or a cat. The only thing rats need to become more popular is a good public-relations campaign, and maybe a new name. Short-tailed squirrels, maybe? Next time you see a rat, discard the training that you have been given and take time to appreciate the clever and gentle creature that God has made to share your world.

Maneka Gandhi

Original Article found here