Three minutes to talk about popular science
When putting rat poison and rat traps, you can't make a sound, let alone say where to put rat poison, once the rats overhear this "strategic secret", they will all avoid the trap, and they will not touch the poison bait with rat poison!
Rats can understand human speech", is this a legend, or is there really a scientific basis?
One of the most successful mammals.
This small and flexible creature has carved out a niche in human society with its amazing adaptability and survival strategies. They are able to adapt quickly to urban environments, feeding on human-generated garbage, and in cities such as Paris, rats are already outnumbered by humans.
In fact, scientists have long noticed the adaptability of these rats, especially in terms of hearing and feeling, rats communicate socially by emitting ultrasound waves, and these whispers at night, we humans can't hear them!
And a study from the Center for Excellence in Brain Intelligence of the Chinese Academy of Sciences showed that mice can indeed respond to the pitch of a voice, but this is not the same as "understanding".
Although mice are smart, they are still mostly imaginary when they understand human language, especially Chinese, which is difficult for foreigners to master, and rats and mice certainly can't understand it!
But their excellent hearing can still sense small changes in sound, even the sound of human footsteps and breathing. Rats instinctively become alert when there is an unusual sound in the environment, such as the whispering of people when placing rat poison.
In particular, those in the city who often "fight wits and courage" with humans show a higher "intelligence". City rats are more intelligent at solving problems, probably because they need to adapt to more complex living environments.
And some rats do make trap-avoiding behaviors, in fact, this is mainly because we have found that rats are naturally vigilant, and there are also ** support rats can transmit information through different expressions, and this extraordinary sensitivity of rats and rats is the key to their survival. It is also one of the key skills for them to be based around the world.
A companion animal that holds its thighs.
In the wild, rats need to be constantly alert to the threat of predators, and in human-inhabited environments, this vigilance is also continued. As the saying goes, "the heart of defense is indispensable". Thanks to this creed, rats have also become one of the most successful companion animal groups.
After the mystery of whether rats can understand human speech, we can't help but ask: how did these little guys develop such a close relationship with humans?
At this point, we have to mention an important concept - companion animals. Companion animals, as the name suggests, are animals that live in the company of humans.
These animals can be pets in our household, such as cats and dogs, or pests such as domestic rats and cockroaches that can tolerate environmental changes and coexist with humans. As a very successful companion animal, rats and rats have lived together with humans in countless cities and villages.
It can be said that whether it is the underground pipe gallery of the modern city or the granary of ancient Egypt, or even the ship and train, they can find their place.
Grievances and hatreds between rats and rats.
The key to rats' ability to live so closely with humans is their amazing ability to adapt. Rats are not only able to tolerate changes in their environment, but they are also able to survive using the various resources generated by human society.
In human habitats, rats find abundant food** and safe habitats. They have learned to live quietly outside of human sight.
This ability makes the mouse a special kind of "companion animal". Unlike pet animals such as domestic dogs and domestic cats, rats were not intentionally domesticated by humans, on the contrary, they spontaneously adapted to the human lifestyle, and in the process, formed a symbiotic relationship with humans.
But this relationship is not very harmonious, and while rats enjoy the resources provided by humans, they can also spread diseases and damage items, directly affecting the quality of life of humans. But on the other hand, some types of rats and rats are stars in the pet market and medical field.
In this symbiotic arena, rats demonstrate their intelligence and resilience to survive. They are constantly learning, constantly adapting, and even in some cases, our sociologists will use the social nature of mice and mice to simulate human society, and the famous "mouse utopia" experiment is to use the sociality of mice and humans.
There are many species of rats, with about 500 species of rats in the world, ranging from the hot equator to the cold poles, and they can even be found on the ruins of the atomic bomb**. This strong vitality has made rats one of the most successful mammals on the planet.
Most of them have a very short period of sexual maturity, usually only a few months. Rats can reproduce multiple times a year, and the number of litters is usually around ten per litter. Moreover, the female rat can conceive after giving birth, and the gestation period is about 20 to 22 days.
Young mice are sexually mature and begin to reproduce at about 3 months, maintaining reproductive potential for 1 to 2 years. This efficient rate of reproduction allows the rat population to grow rapidly.
In addition to reproducing quickly, rats are also very adaptable. They are able to adapt quickly to new environments and are able to develop and utilize a variety of different foods**.
Whether it is grains, vegetables, plant roots, meat, skin and bones, or even leather shoes, soap can be eaten, and when they are very hungry, "house mice" will also gnaw on wood, rubber and other inorganic substances. Although this does not allow them to survive, it also shows that the rats have a strong desire to survive.
The "house mice" and "wild mice" mentioned here are actually very common brown mice, roof rats, yellow-breasted mice, and mice.
Whether it is wild or not is not used as a basis for species classification. For example, some "wild mice" that appear in Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia: black hamsters, long-tailed hamsters, and black squirrels can also transition to human living areas.
However, due to the different living environments, they may differ in body shape, coat color, and behavioral habits. Some extreme "comfortable" city life can even give birth to giant super-individuals.
The average house mouse inhabits and surrounds human buildings and relies on food and shelter provided by humans. They have adapted to the rhythm of human life.
Jerboa family — long-eared jerboas.
Wild rats are completely different and live mainly in the wild, such as fields, forests, and grasslands. Wild mice do not rely on human food** and will find food on their own, such as seeds, plant roots, and insects.
Although house mice and wild mice differ in their living environments, they are not completely isolated from each other. It can be said that as long as they can "find a job" in the city, they can completely "go to the city to work".