Awesome science facts for kids

I love to know and share amazing information about animal facts: Top 20 awesome facts about rats

1. Rats take care of injured and sick rats in their group.
2. Without companionship rats tend to become lonely and depressed.
3. Rats have excellent memories. Once they learn a navigation route, they won’t forget it.
4. When happy, rats have been observed to chatter or grind their teeth. This is often accompanied by vibrating eyes.
5. Rats make happy "laughter" sounds when they play.
6. Rats succumb to peer-pressure, just like humans. Brown rats are prone to disregard personal experiences in order to copy the behaviour of their peers. The urge to conform is so strong that they will even choose to eat unpalatable food if they are in the company of other rats who are eating it.
7. Although very curious animals, rats are also shy, and prefer to run away than confront a potential threat.Rats are extremely clean animals, spending several hours every day grooming themselves and their group members. They are less likely than cats or dogs to catch and transmit parasites and viruses.
8. A rat can go longer than a camel without having a drink of water.
9. Rats’ tails help them to balance, communicate and regulate their body temperature.
10. The rat is the first of the twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac. People born in this year are thought to possess characteristics which are associated with rats, namely: creativity, intelligence, honesty, ambition and generosity. Do you want to check out our long and rich source of tigers facts in your spare time?
11. Rats are recognised as the vehicle of Lord Ganesh in Indian tradition. They are worshipped at the Karni Devi Temple, where priests and pilgrims will feed them grain and milk.
12. The common pet fancy rat is actually known as Rattus norvegicus.
13. “Fancy” as it appears in “Fancy Rat” is not actually referring to the rats as fancy. The term “fancy” is used in a way that means to appreciate or like, such as “I fancy my pet rat”.
14. The first pet rats were domesticated in the 18th century, when people caught & tamed wild, rare albino rats (PEW’s, or Pink-Eyed Whites). These rats were kept for show and breeding purposes, especially for blood sport. Blood sports were later brought to an end.
15. H.H. Donaldson ( European biologist who came to America) is believed to have brought the first domesticated PEW rats into the United States.
16. The average lifespan of a pet rat is two to three years.
17. Female rats tend to have a softer coat than their male counterparts.
18. Dumbo eared rats do not have dumbo ears because of very carefully arranged breeding; the gene that causes dumbo ears is actually a mutation that results in deformity! Rats with this gene ARE overall healthy; they just have big ears, stockier bodies, and smaller lower jaws.
19. Cedar can kill a pet rat quickly, as the cedar oils are poisonous to the rats.
20. Mother rats are SO compassionate, that they will adopt virtually any baby and nurse it as their own with very little thought.