Is Climate Change Creating Mutant Rodents?
According to a relatively recent study by Oliver Pergams, a researcher at the University of Chicago: “Changes in the head shape and overall size of rodents has been linked to human population density and climate change.” Pergams found the size and head shape of rodents has shifted substantially during the last 100 years. “Species can adapt quickly to rapid environmental changes – quicker than many people have thought, especially for mammals,” Pergams explained. “Those mammals that can adapt quickly have a much higher chance to survive big environmental changes caused by humans.” Rodent size is nothing new to Big Apple residents but dig this: A rat can fit through an opening that is just one half inch wide, can breath under water for two minutes, can swim for three days before it drowns, and can chew through concrete. In fact, when rats were pitted against college students to learn their way through a maze, the rats learned three times faster than the students. If you’re still not feeli
