10 facts about rats!
Discover more about these intelligent creatures in our fab facts about rats…
1) Rats are medium-sized rodents with a long tail. A group of rats is called a ‘mischief’!
2) Rats are mainly nocturnal and live underground. Although they vastly outnumber humans, we rarely see them. They are experts at staying out of sight!
3) Throughout human history, rats have travelled with us around the planet, stowing away on boats and settling wherever humans live. They feed on the food we throw away and can spread diseases among humans, like the medieval Black Death, which was spread by fleas that lived on rats.
4) Rats’ super-strong teeth never stop growing! They have to keep nibbling to wear them down – or eating would become impossible!
5) Their whiskers are more sensitive than human fingertips! Rats brush the long hairs against objects or the floor, helping them build up a detailed picture of their environment.

6) With eyes on either side of their head that can move in opposite directions, rats are even able to see what’s happening above them. Very handy for spotting any rat-eating birds!
7) Rats can hear well, including sounds that are too high-pitched for humans to hear. They may also ‘smile’ with their ears! When they’re happy their ears relax, become droopy and slightly pinker. Aww!
8) They wash by constantly licking their fur – sometimes they’ll even ‘comb’ it into place with their teeth. Yes, rats are squeak-y clean!
9) Rats’ long tails are used for balance and to keep themselves cool – they can direct some of their body heat out through them! They’re also great swimmers, able to hold their breath for several minutes.
10) A single rat can leave 25,000 droppings a year – poo–ey!
If you liked learning about rats, check out this hopping fun rabbit facts article!
What did you think of our fab facts about rats? Let us know by leaving a comment, below!
Images ⓒ Getty Images: rat (141167926), rat on girl’s shoulder (929956456).
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COMMENTS1
I love all rodents.
somefishidk
Sharky
Michael
Very wonderful
ava
so interesting and cool... but gross. but cool.
jayden
nice i like the information national geographic kids.
TofuRat
Cool facts!(i love rats and now I love them even more!)
Lillie pascoe
I apsilootly love this page
I lived it
Hiiiiiiiiiiiiii!!!!!!!!!!!
Cool!
Lukas
I love rats
kaisen
interesting
I love rats they are super cool I have two rat Dark and Moon they are both lovely
Hello
Jeff
i like rats
i have two rats named gerald and gorge there so cute one is black and white and one is orange and white there so cute and they love being on your sholdure sorry i cant spell but they are so cute and when ever i tell my friends i have pet rats they always think of sewer rats like the grey ones but there so friendly and nice
Logan Weil
wow that was cool i want a pet rat.
Squidchick
Wow that is amazing!!!
SolomiiaOMG
I love nat geo kids because you discover things like animals, science, virus and other things you can discover XD .
shanze
I recommend this very much. it helped me so much with one of my school projects!
Vos
Cool;)*
Terrance Mabasa
Awesome facts ,thanks a lot for the knowledge
Maymouna
This is a good app
addison
wow
Catherine Howard
i had better keep this website secret, you never know what beheadings are around the corner
tala
wow
Josly P.K
Wow cool I like it, please keep posting because kids like it soo much.
john
cool
Olivia B
I loved learning about rats.
Chaitanya
Cool facts
ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww
babbykitty
cool ig.
Livi
Wow
Nazaroth
My Chinese zodiac is the rat
Cool cat
No wonder rats have a bad rap that is a lot of poop!
ava
omg
Evans
LOL
moose
rats are so cute!
Henry culley
I like It very much!!!!!!
Lola
So fun
sup
sup
ha
rats r cool
ya boi
i like
reee kid
sup
bob
fun
ha
haha
GIRAFFELOVER123
COOL RATS ARE SO ADORABLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
izzy
this is a very good website . I would recommend it.
kenzie3511
so interesting
GIRAFFELOVER123
Some rats are being used in labs so people can use them to test medicane on them. Personally I think this is wrong, 'cause rats are helping save lives but maybe the medicane could kill them and I know this because I read the february issue of NG KIDS. And i for one know that people think rats are vermin but as I might be a scientest when I'm older but I know rats may seem vermin but if you look a little closer you'll see how amazing they are and I think this is wrong
Chicken leg peace
The rat dance
Gillbert909
kewl
bubblegum
i hate rats.
I hate rats but I love National geographic kids it is amazing
Dev
That was really nice and interesting. They are good facts to learn. I like rats because they have fur and they are cheeky like me!
Mooey
Rats are go
Mario
This is good.
Unknown
Wow I learned facts I never knew about!!
Brodie
I am brodie
Joshua Kim
That's Amazing!
Stella Flowers
I love to see your facts they are soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo cool!
sapo
this was interesting
Alli
wow i didn't know this. Very cool!
devin
i love rats
boo
I love reading national geographic kids their facts are amazing
Bob
That is surprising
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