Brown Rat (Rattus norvegicus)
Brown Rats are small rodents with coarse brown fur and light grey-brown bellies, with long, thick tails and small ears. Originally from northern China, they have spread across the world, including Britain, making them the most successful mammal on the planet after humans.
Habitat
Brown Rats live wherever humans live, particularly in urban areas.
Behaviour
Brown Rats are usually active at night and are good swimmers, both on the surface and underwater. Using their powerful legs the dig large burrow systems where they live in large hierarchical groups. In cities they often live in sewers. They communicate with each other with high pitched calls, using different calls during mating and to warn others that predators are present.
Feeding
Brown Rats eat almost anything, but cereal grains and grasses are their favourite food.
Breeding
Brown Rats breed throughout the year, with females giving birth to up to five litters a year, each consisting of about seven pups. One pair can multiply to 200 in just one year.
