A video showing a large rat grabbing its human’s finger and also pulling it to show its baby is going viral, showing us how little we actually learn about rats – one of the smartest pets on the planet.
Rats are extremely social, communicating with each other via high-frequency sounds that we can’t hear without instruments. They like to play with each other, cuddle and fight. Jaak Panksepp, a neuroscientist at Bowling Green State University, recommends that when rats play or are happy, they make chirping sounds that are strikingly similar to human giggles.” [Y]oung rats have a spectacular sense of fun,” the professor says.
When rats bond with their human buddies, it’s permanent. So if they are unexpectedly passed on to another person or neglected, they can also die from misfortune. Just like humans, when rats don’t have friendship, they become lonely, anxious, stressed and also depressed.
Oh, and the giant rat we see in the video clip is more than likely a giant gopher. This type of rat is used in Africa to detect land mines. Talk about intelligent creatures!