March 2, 2014

Discovering Dargatz # 2 - Rat Cannibalism

When thinking of traditional Christmas gift for a young boy, one might think of a truck, a video game, or a new football. However, my sister thought of something unexpected, something downright unusual. I named them Boris and Morris, and they were the two lab rats my sister experimented with in a college science course.  Rather than see her "experiments" ended, she saved them from certain death and gifted them to her younger, much geekier brother one fateful Christmas Eve. I accepted them graciously, especially with the brand new cage and other supplies that came with these white-haired, red beady eyed creatures. However, that initial excitement turned into extreme terror when I awoke to a  gruesome scene Christmas morning.  Apparently, these two rats were separated during her semester of coursework.  Not so much in my cage.   I learned quickly that rats are extremely territorial.  A new tidbit learned that  morn was that rats not only fight to death, but the "winner" often eats the loser. Morris won.  (Actually, I had no idea, but I liked the name Morris better.)  He lived six more years, surpassing the expected life expectancy of a rat.  Maybe his rat cannibalism gave him rat superpowers.

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