Editing Rat (section)

==As invasive species==
{{anchor| Rats as invasive species}}
[[File:Rat catching etching E Landseer SLNSW.jpg|thumb|Rat-catching, 1823, by [[Edwin Landseer]], engraving, published by Hurst, Robinson & Co.]]
When introduced into locations where rats previously did not exist, they can wreak an enormous degree of [[environmental degradation]]. ''[[Rattus rattus]]'', the '''black rat''', is considered to be one of the world's worst invasive species.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.issg.org/database/species/search.asp?st=100ss&fr=1&str=&lang=EN |title=100 of the World's Worst Invasive Alien Species |publisher=Global Invasive Species Database |access-date=17 February 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130227061611/http://www.issg.org/database/species/search.asp?st=100ss&fr=1&str=&lang=EN |archive-date=27 February 2013 }}</ref> Also known as the '''ship rat''', it has been carried worldwide as a [[stowaway]] on [[ship|seagoing vessels]] for millennia and has usually accompanied men to any new area visited or settled by human beings by sea. Rats first got to countries such as America and Australia by stowing away on ships.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.dcceew.gov.au/sites/default/files/env/pages/e864dda5-e6ab-44b8-bd62-c282f61aa457/files/island-rats.pdf |title=Predation by exotic rats on Australian offshore islands of less than 1000 km2 (100,000 ha) listing advice |publisher=Government of Australia |access-date=16 February 2023}}</ref> The similar species ''[[Rattus norvegicus]]'', the '''brown rat''' or '''wharf rat''', has also been carried worldwide by ships in recent centuries.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Species – Brown Rat |url=https://www.mammal.org.uk/species-hub/full-species-hub/discover-mammals/species-brown-rat/ |access-date=2024-03-10 |website=The Mammal Society |language=en-GB}}</ref>

The ship or wharf rat has contributed to the extinction of many species of wildlife, including birds, small mammals, reptiles, invertebrates, and plants, especially on islands. '''True rats''' are [[Omnivore|omnivorous]], capable of eating a wide range of plant and animal foods, and have a very high [[birth rate]]. When introduced to a new area, they quickly reproduce to take advantage of the new food supply. In particular, they prey on the eggs and young of forest birds, which on isolated islands often have no other predators and thus have [[Island tameness|no fear of predators]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.issg.org/database/species/ecology.asp?si=19&fr=1&sts=&lang=EN|title=Rattus rattus (mammal)|publisher=Global Invasive Species Database|access-date=17 January 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151020062206/http://www.issg.org/database/species/ecology.asp?si=19&fr=1&sts=&lang=EN|archive-date=20 October 2015}}</ref> Some experts believe that rats are to blame for between forty percent and sixty percent of all seabird and reptile extinctions, with ninety percent of those occurring on islands. Thus man has indirectly caused the extinction of many species by accidentally introducing rats to new areas.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://scienceavenger.blogspot.ca/2007/12/humans-outdone-by-rats-for-causing.html|title=Humans outdone by Rats for causing Extinctions|publisher=Science Avenger|access-date=17 January 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150119000642/http://scienceavenger.blogspot.ca/2007/12/humans-outdone-by-rats-for-causing.html|archive-date=19 January 2015|date=2007-12-05}}</ref>