Norway rats reach sexual maturity
after 3–4 months and give birth to 5–6
litters each year. With a gestation period
of 22 days and an average number of 8–10
per litter, Norway rats reproduce rapidly.
Their lifespan is about a year.
Norway rats live in close association with
people. They burrow to make nests under buildings
and other structures, along stream banks,
around ponds, in garbage dumps, and at other
locations where food, water, and shelter are
present. On farms they may inhabit sheds,
livestock buildings, silos, and kennels. In
urban or suburban areas they live in and around
residences, in cellars, warehouses, stores,
abattoirs, docks, and in sewers. Although
it is a reasonably good climber, the Norway
rat prefers drains, sewers and ground level
burrows, often entering buildings through
holes and gaps in poorly constructed or maintained
floors and walls of buildings. Their foraging
range is approximately 40–50 metres. |
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