How smart are rats?

Are you going to learn about smartness of rats? Yes, you are at right place. While animals are not given IQ tests, the easiest way to know how intelligent they are by observing them in different environments and understands how easily they will survive. And yes, a rat is very adoptable.



How do you know rats are smart?

• If you give a rat a name, you will notice that he/ she will respond to the name whenever the name is called out loud. This means they take ownership and know the name belongs to them. If that is not intelligence, we do not know what is.

• They respond to other mice in distress. In fact, most will forgo a treat to help a ‘friend’ who may be introuble.

• The fact that they are picky with food also says something about their intelligence. Notice how they will go for the tastiest part of a meal and leave the boring part.

• Their grooming techniques alsosuggest they loath dirt as opposed to other rodents which do not seem to have much of a problem with it.

Why is it import for us to know these facts?

In learning about their intelligence people are better able to learn new ways of rat population control without necessarily causing too much pain.

Although they cannot be considered the best to keep as pets, people have taken up adopting rats as pets due to their high IQ, the fact that they learn fast and adopt quickly. They tend to adapt easily to being kept as rats.

Which way to go?

While it is hard not to like those facts about rat intelligence, it is also fact that they are the world’s most adopted rodents and are in almost all continents. They are destructive and nuisance. Probably the purpose of understanding rats would be to understand the best way to keep them off our properties and their control. Because they may be carriers of dangerous diseases, you are encouraged to try and keep their populations in your home and compound controlled. If you can it is best to completely remove them. However, as with all animals, it is advised that you look for humane ways to remove them rather than killing them through poisons and poisons. With intelligence comes the ability to understand intentions. Hence use smart and humane ways to get rid of them.

How smart are rats?