240 BRITISH MAMMALS 



insects which it might attack and destroy with some benefit to 

 humanity it leaves alone, and the snakes, owls, buzzards, and 

 other predatory animals which might assist man in ridding the 

 world of a plague of rats, are foolishly slain by humanity, instead 

 of being most carefully protected. 



The brown rat burrows easily into the ground, and uses its- 

 strong incisor teeth to gnaw its way through timber or cement. 

 It is nocturnal in its habits when its presence abroad in the day- 

 time might be risky. In moving about in the darkness it is 

 undoubtedly much helped by the length of the sensitive vibrissas 

 which grow from the muzzle. In its home life, so to speak, 

 it can be affectionate and even tender, yet when pressed by 

 hunger or fear it will devour its young or its weaker comrades. 

 It has a considerable development of voice, squeaking loudly, 

 uttering a thin metallic " skikking " sound when angry, or a 

 grunting, murmuring noise when amorous. It can jump to 

 considerable heights up or down, run for miles and at great 

 speed, and swim for considerable distances. In some districts 

 it almost takes to a water life, so that in many English rivers and 

 canals it is mistaken for the large water vole. Elsewhere it will 

 resort to the trees, or it will live a life wholly subterranean. 



The brown rat would appear to have originated in Central 

 Asia, and allied forms are found in India. Some great increase 

 in numbers, combined with the decrease of food supply, caused 

 it to commence emigrating from Central Asia in the sixteenth 

 and seventeenth centuries. It crossed the Volga and entered 

 European Russia in 1727. It was brought to England by 

 vessels coming from the Baltic about 1730, or even earlier. 

 Paris was occupied in 1750, and now the distribution of the 

 most odious and universally detested mammal on the face of 

 the earth is world-wide. It Is found throughout the British 

 Islands, including not only England, Wales, Scotland, and 

 Ireland, but even the remotest islands ofF these shores. British 

 shipping has assisted unconsciously but effectively in carrying 

 the brown rat to all parts of America, Australia, the Pacific 

 Islands, and Africa. In remote parts of Central Africa it is 



