How Do Rats Protect Their Young?
WouterRats have several ways of protecting their young. For example, they can scatter their young, leaving them scattered throughout their nest. This behavior is common in wild rats when they are threatened. A predator would only target the scattered babies, leaving the rest of the nest intact. Moms can also accidentally scatter their babies when leaving their nest. To prevent this behavior, moms should put the babies back into their nest.
Rats’ mothers take on a great responsibility when it comes to feeding their young. If the mother is unable to find adequate food nearby, the young may suffer. In these situations, the mother rat will often feed her young to prevent suffering. She may do this out of kindness and to preserve nutrients for her young.
Researchers have found that a hormone in the central amygdala makes a mother rat willing to risk her life to protect her young. The hormone oxytocin is responsible for making the mother rat risk her life to protect her young. The study results suggest that the central amygdala plays a vital role in mother-daughter bonding.
Although the presence of other males in the nest may reduce the risk of infanticide, female rats face a risk of increased predation during mating. It is therefore important to protect the nestling litter during mating. This can require the mother to abandon other potential mates and attract infanticidal males, which can be costly for the mother. In addition to this, the mother must also maintain the risk of injuring her young by displaying maternal aggression.
