Infographic. Image source: gothamist
According to the media news such as Fox News Network and The New York Post, due to the impact of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, rats in some cities in the United States must "fight bloody battles" to survive - because these cities are "blocked" due to the epidemic, hungry rats flock to the streets to forage for food, and even begin to cannibalize and eat their cubs.
It is reported that similar incidents have been reported in Many places such as New York City, Seattle City, and New Orleans City. Bobby Corrigan, an expert in urban rodents, said that in places like New York, thousands of restaurants have been closed due to the epidemic. "Rats living near these restaurants may have depended on their food waste for decades, but now that life is untenable, they don't have many options."
The resulting strong survival instincts cause them to begin to fratricidal: some begin to "fight for territory", and when a new "army" of rats attacks, the stronger one eventually occupies the area; some adult rats will kill their cubs and eat them. "Like most mammals, hungry rats become more violent and aggressive" and "the remains of rats can be seen on the streets, some of which have been eaten by other rats."
Corrigan also warned people that panicked rats would not only kill their own kind, but also invade human buildings through cracks in doors. "In some neighborhoods, hungry rats also roam outside during the day. If they smell food leaking out of people's doors, they try to squeeze in through the cracks in the doors. ”
Infographic. Source: Christopher Sadowski
It is reported that the city of New Orleans is also deeply troubled by this problem. Due to its subtropical climate and well-developed tourism, the city has always faced rat infestation. After the "closure" due to the epidemic, the problem is even more serious.
New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell said the rats put the homeless at risk. Claudia Riegel, head of the local Mosquito, Rat and Pest Control Committee, also expressed concern about the problem, "These rodents carry pathogens, and fortunately no large number of cases related to this have been detected, but this potential danger has not been ruled out." Rigel said he would work aggressively to successfully limit rat populations "at least for the next month."
Infographic. Image source: Mladen Antonov/AFP
In addition, Colligan also mentioned that although some rats began to kill each other, this does not mean that the behavior of all local rats has changed. Rats whose food sources were not affected "still acted at night" and "were mostly invisible."
According to real-time data from Johns Hopkins University in the United States, as of 14:15 Beijing time on April 15, the number of confirmed cases of new crown pneumonia in the United States reached 609422, and the cumulative number of deaths reached 26,056. New York Governor Cuomo, who is located in the "epicenter" of the epidemic in the United States, recently said that although the number of new hospitalizations is still increasing, the total number of people has been controlled below 19,000, and the epidemic in New York State may have reached the platform period. (Text/Second Tube)