Does Rats Eat Money?
WouterA recent story in India raised the question of whether rats can eat money. In the northeastern city of Tinsukia, a rat chewed through two hundred and fifty rupee bills, worth nearly $18,000. At first, the State Bank of India thought the machine was malfunctioning. But after further investigation, it was discovered that the rat had squeezed himself inside the ATM through an access hole for the network cables.
A few days later, a technician was called to the location and found the machine resembled the inside of a paper shredder. The rat had escaped the security camera of the machine, robbing it of more than half of its supply of cash. Afterwards, the rat’s dead body was found in the machine. Although the investigation found no evidence of foul play, the money was still missing.
When a rat finds food, it usually leaves traces of it behind. The rat’s jaw muscles are particularly powerful. They are anchored around the eye sockets, running behind the eyeballs. As they chew, they can make the eyeballs vibrate, which is a sign of pleasure.
Rats are omnivorous and can eat up to one-third of their body weight every day. They have excellent camouflage, which allows them to live in numbers without being discovered. They are more difficult to control because their population is large. However, they can quickly adapt to new food sources, environment, and routines.
