- New York City rats are highly social and form close bonds with each other
- Rats in NYC display unique accents in their ultrasonic vocalisations
- Researchers used thermal imaging and ultrasonic recordings to study rats
New York City's rats are showing traits that are more complex than previously thought. A recent study highlights that these urban rodents are highly social animals, displaying behaviours like forming close bonds and even exhibiting unique "accents" while speaking to each other.
"Urban rats are highly adaptable, thriving in the dynamic and often inhospitable conditions of modern cities," the yet-to-be-peer-reviewed paper noted. "Despite substantial mitigation efforts, they remain an enduring presence in urban environments, yet surprisingly little is known about the daily lives and behavioral strategies that underlie their success."
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The study found that these rats form friendships and have been observed grooming and playing together. The researchers also found variations in rats' squeaks akin to different accents, possibly tied to their social groups or neighbourhoods.
The researchers have conducted fieldwork on free-ranging rats in New York City, using thermal imaging and ultrasonic audio recordings. Last year in July, the researchers studied the colonies of rattus norvegicus, known as Norway or brown rats, for three weeks in Union Square Station, Central Park and West 125th Street.
The researchers used thermal cameras to track their every movement and captured high-resolution movement patterns. They generated 3D reconstructions of foraging environments, including subways, streets and parks, by applying cutting-edge artificial intelligence (AI) techniques. To study how they speak, the researchers used ultrasonic microphones.
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"Being social helps them survive . . . in some ways, you could call New York City an extreme environment," neuroscientist and study co-author Emily Mackevicius, co-founder and senior research scientist at Basis Research Institute of New York, said as quoted by the New York Post.
"They're pretty tough, adaptable and smart. There are a lot of parallels between the character of the rats and New Yorkers as people."
The researchers observed that one rat squeaked out an "alarm call" after it found a trash bag filled with food in Harlem. "Inside of that trash bag it's screaming for tens of seconds," co-author Ralph Peterson, a computational neuroscientist, said as uoted in the report. "Maybe it has something to do about the types of food it found."
Overall, the study found that NYC rats thrive in urban environments, showcasing their resilience and cleverness.
