Ye Brife Histore of the Ratte

Norway rats are subterranean animals that, in the wild, dig their homes underground often at the base of trees. (get to your city park and look for the rat holes!) Their warrens usually have two doors: the one they us all the time plus a disguised "bolt hole" for speedy, emergency exits. Their colonies are often quite large and they have a complex social structure.

You don't usually see Rattus in the city, but they can be found, among other places, in the warmer areas of the U.S. (California and Texas) and the U.K. where they are expanding their range. They must be expanding their range in the U. S., too, because mine were found in Philly. They're smaller, more delicate and graceful looking, having the aspect of huge mice, whereas Norvy has, I think, a "bearish" look. Rattus are also good climbers and somewhat arboreal (tree-dwelling) instead of living in a hole in the ground. Take a look at Rattus here at Claire Jordan's Rattus Site, Hello Sailor! --

http://members.madasafish.com/~cj_whiteh...

There ARE New World rats, native to North America, like the Cotton Rat, Pack Rat, and Trader Rat -- but these animals do not even share Norvy's subfamily. However, the house mouse (Mus musculus) does, and so, along with Rattus and Norvegicus, are known as Murine rodents. This means that your rat is a closer relative of the common mouse than he is of the North American Bushy Tailed Wood Rat. I've heard it said that New World Rats aren't really "True Rats" -- only the Old World Rats, the 56 species under the genera Rattus, are the real thing.

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