What Rats Live the Longest?
WouterThe naked mole rat is considered the world’s oldest rat. It has a very long life and is immune to cancer. It secretes a sugar that prevents cancerous cells from overcrowding, and it also has a special protein that removes damaged or incorrectly manufactured proteins in its cells. This helps the rat to retain youthfulness throughout its life.
In terms of lifespan, the rat’s sex plays an important role. While males and females live about the same amount of time, the average lifespan of a rat is longer in females than in males. It has been reported that female rats live about 2% to 15% longer than male rats.
Longer-living mammals are also known to repair their DNA better than other animals. Gorbunova’s team compared the efficiency of 18 species of rodents to repair DNA damage. The team found that long-lived species have a more powerful version of a gene called Sirt6.
Rats have a distinct life cycle, which is divided into four phases. The first phase begins when a rat is born. Newborn rats are blind and dependent on their mothers. They spend the first week of their lives sleeping and feeding. After a week or two, young rats can walk and open their eyes. Two to three weeks after that, they begin to fend for themselves, but they still need their siblings for socialization. In the wild, a rat will live for approximately one year.
Rats are great swimmers. They can hold their breath for up to three seconds and tread water for three days. When they are stressed, they cry blood. This happens because of the Harderian gland behind their eyes.
