The world of mice
Brown rat
Rattus norvegicus
Did you know ... that there are brown rats on every continent except Antarctica? Originally from the northern regions of Eastern Asia, brown rats were spread worldwide by humans.
Family
Muridae
Distribution
Brown rats originated in Eastern Asia. They arrived in Europe via Copenhagen as stowaways on ships at the beginning of the 18th century, eventually displacing the black rat. Today, brown rats are native across almost all of Europe.
Lifestyle
They live in family groups and are most active at night, using ultrasound and scent to find their way around and communicate with each other. It is therefore no surprise that they have a finely attuned sense of smell. Members of a group can recognise other members by their scent, which is passed on down the generations. Scent traces and breath convey important messages: scent traces warn of negative events, while breath passes on information about food sources that have been located. Rats use echolocation to create a spatial image, using chirrups and whistling to warn each other of danger.
Reproduction
Under ideal conditions, brown rats can breed all year round. Dams give birth to four to eight young around six times per year. After mating, the gestation period is around three weeks. The young reach sexual maturity at the age of three months.
Diet
Brown rats are omnivores, preferring herbivorous foodstuffs such as berries, buds and shoots. They are intelligent, social animals, who restrict themselves to familiar foodstuffs to avoid the risk of poisoning. Rats have many enemies and are preyed upon by humans, dogs, cats, martens, weasels, polecats and birds of prey such as buzzards and owls.
The brown rat in Langenberg
Since 2014. The brown rats have lived in the Mouse House with the house mice and the edible dormice since 2014. They are descended from brown rats bred by the Lange Erlen Wildlife Park in Basel. Their enclosure in the Mouse House is designed to look like a cellar.
