Rat King, which is called in English"rat king", not the king of rats. Rather, it refers to a group of ratsThe tails are entangled, unable to separate, formed oneSuper swarm of rats
In ancient European legends, the Rat King was not simply a natural phenomenon, but was endowed with much moreMysteriouswithmeaning.
As soon as the rat king comes out, it is often consideredDisasterwithPlagueof the omen.
This phenomenon most often occurs in winter, when rats huddle together to keep warm, and their tails may stick together due to dirt such as food, feces, secretions, etc., and the more they struggle, the more the knots in their tails will tighten, trapping them.
Eventually, they can't find food to eat, and the rats with their tails tangled together will beStarve to death
The earliest record of the Rat King appeared in 1564, and most of the records appearedEurope, especially in Germany.
The number of rats that make up the rat king is also different, ranging from 3 to 5 rats, and the highest number of rats recorded is 32. And this one is the biggestRat King specimenIt was kept in GermanyAltenburgMauritianum Museum.
This rat king specimen was discovered in May 1828 in the chimney of a factory in Altenburg, and was later discoveredAltenburg Association for Nature ResearchIt was displayed to the public in a glass case until 1908, when it was moved into the museum.
The latest Rat King was discovered in 2005Estonia。A farmer named Reink IV found a mass of rat kings in the field, 16 of them in total.
When they were found, nine of them were still alive, but their tails were tangled together and they had to spin in place, and they were all beaten to death with sticks by the farmer's son. At that time, they didn't know that it was the rat king, so they threw the rats on a pile of wooden planks.
It wasn't until more than two months later that it was discovered by zoologists and reported by major ** that this rat king was called ".Saru Rat King".
The Saru Rat King is now placed inTartuThe University Museum of Natural History is regularly exhibited to the public. However, due to drying out of shape, knotted tails and loose tails, there are now only 13 of the 16 mice left.
This phenomenon is not limited to mice, as many tails are also found in other rodents, such as squirrels"Squirrel King".
In 2013, doctors in Canada rescued six squirrels, and the squirrels' tails were mainly due toTree sapadhesions. Doctors usually give them a shot firstAnesthesiaAfter shaving the tail hair, a little bitUntie the knot。If they are not rescued, these squirrel kings can only wait for death.
As of 2005, there were records worldwideThe case of the rat kingThere are 58 in total, of which 6 specimens are kept in museums in various places.
Now we know,Rat KingIt is a rare natural phenomenon, but in the past, it was given to manySupernatural explanations,It has become a horror legend circulating in the West!
Survival in nature often reveals cruel absurdity!
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