This story appears in the April 2019 issue of National Geographic magazine.
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How rats became an inescapable part of city living
In some parts of the world they are revered and protected; in other places they are captured and eaten for dinner. One thing is certain: They’re everywhere.
NEW YORK CITY Adaptable and smart, rats of several species have evolved to thrive in major cities—yet the sight of a rat scurrying across West Broadway can make even the most hardened urbanite jump. Many humans find rats frightening and revolting, even though rats and people have occupied shared living spaces for thousands of years. New York rats are primarily Norway (or brown) rats. Their ancestors lived in the wild in northern China and Mongolia, were established in parts of Europe by 1500, and then followed Europeans across the Atlantic Ocean by the 1750s.
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