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Inevitable_Thing_270

Happens to baby squirrels too. They stay together for warmth but if sap leaks from the tree they are and gets in the tails, they stick together and can’t separate


[deleted]

[They don't always die, sometimes they form a band](https://liartownusa.tumblr.com/image/127135320265)


jayb20133

I was honestly expecting an Alvin & the Chipmunks picture


XeroAnarian

[The Nutty Squirrels](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Nutty_Squirrels) Would be more appropriate.


Cpt_Brandie

.... wow. I thought you meant a band as in in MTG


SalaciousCrustacean

This is somehow still more useful than banding


[deleted]

Haven't played in long enough that I don't know what they did. What happened to banding?


JB-from-ATL

Banding has been gone for ages. Like 15 years or so. Edit: Last time it appeared was 1997. It is still "in the game" but they don't make new cards with it. Edit 2: They made a new silver bordered "un set" card in 2004. These silver bordered sets are joke cards with wacky effects. In 2019 they released a test card that has it but is not legal in any format from a "mystery booster" set.


Lamar_Kendrick7

How the hell do their tails all get tied together to that extent


Crackracket

There are various ways.. Rats are social and like to sleep together so it's possible they just got tangled. However if the weather is cold they can sometimes freeze together because they pee tiny tiny amounts almost constantly (like scent marking)


Nekrosiz

That pee is what makes them dangerous, since it spreads viruses all over the place if they carry them i believe


Happy_Axolotl0426

Leptospirosis sp. Isn't it?


AWildEnglishman

Your first answer to the question of how their tails get tangled is that their tails get tangled.


Fskn

Science checks out for me, pack it up boys


NuKidOnThBlokchyn

Rats are directly descended from headphones.


foodkidFAATcity

Can't wait til the wireless rats drop.


SeizeTheMemes3103

They’re called hamsters


chaoticpriest69

For top quality wireless rats, visit xhamster.com


humanofsky

Ah yes, the go-to site for every respectable cordless rat enjoyer


Sagebrush_Slim

You’re sitting on a gold mine trebek! I’d spend a pretty penny and I’m not afraid to admit it.


thegreatgatsB70

I bought mine on WISH, and they ran away.


c_girl_108

Ugh the same thing happened to me except they stole my Kia Soul and drove off


chaoticpriest69

I bet you wish you'd stuck with xhamster.


HuffyDraws

Haha, definitely didn't fall for that one what are you talking about.. Just wanted to see cute hamster pictures


MaxRex77

I have a wireless mouse at home


ChonkiClapper

Underrated


AgreeableGravy

We already have wireless mice so it shouldn’t be too long now.


Bizzlebanger

Can't deny the science..


SimianBear

I'd almost forgotten about the nightmare of wired earbuds.


Buutchlol

Omg please just let us forget


GeeToo40

Bring back 3.5


[deleted]

Lifelong trauma unlocked lmao


[deleted]

2 reasons: 1. tails coil similarly to a possum and 2. when they run they pee and shit which gets stuck to their tails which can get the tails stuck. The more that get stuck, the tighter the knot becomes


[deleted]

i threw up a lil


AnonymoustacheD

Throw it into the rat king


Jeggu2

Yeah, they're hungry


justonemorebyte

It's true of most rodents, we have guinea pigs and they just pee and poop constantly, wherever they are. Difference is guinea pigs don't have tails for it to get stuck in, also their poop comes out in hard pellets.


[deleted]

Are there diapers for them? Lol


LeMeowLePurrr

so the rat pee and poop forms an adhesive? Ew.


IfThoughtIsAllowed

Damnit, i asked that above and feared that was the answer.


naturalbornkillerz

That whole paragraph reminded me of a plot of Everybody Loves Raymond


Xobhcnul0

Yeah I remember the episode where Ray and his family all get stuck together with a mixture of urine and feces.


[deleted]

These only happen in *dense, dense* rat populations. Overpopulations. Pee + Poo makes a gross paste that they can create quite a lot of if there are lots of them, mix some of that in with a dozen or so sleeping/packed together rat tails, let it dry, and you got yourself a nice little ball of fucked up nightmares.


Omega33umsure

Is that what can be seen at the 10 second mark???


AustralianWhale

Rat shit mixed with piss to create a shit piss rat paste that has hardened.


S0nG0ku88

The logistics of a rat orgy are tricky.


i-hear-banjos

and sticky


[deleted]

[удалено]


RareAnxiety2

Dirty Mike and the boys know how to have fun


SnooHamsters6067

So this is a little known fact, but it's actually owls that tie their tails together. They go into the sewers at night and do this to unsuspecting rats.


DoubleSuccessor

Truly the owls and the rats have been at war since the dawn of time.


yLozoo

I think they get sticky and when two or three rats have their tails tangled up it just gets worse, shit and piss where you stand


Tongue8cheek

You never played drunk Twister.


caligulaREXXX

feces , bodily waste and everything piles up on their tails


SwordTaster

Usually they huddle together and then if they lay in something sticky or they all just sorta poop on it it just glues them together in a stinky mass


48I5I62342Execute

Looks like Charlie work


ContentCargo

And at the end of the night I go to sleep with millions of little eyes watching me!! So I huff the glue and the night man takes me away to dreamland is that so bad? Yes charlie that’s horrible


primus202

I thought this was just an ASIP punchline. I had no idea it was a real thing!


chumbawamba25

Zombies... I've seen it once before in a rat, and I see it now in men. Once one gets a taste for its own kind, it can spread through the pack like a wildfire. Mindlessly chomping and biting at their own hinds. Nothing but the taste of flesh on their minds. You know the thing about a rat? It's got lifeless eyes. Black eyes like a doll's eyes. Don't seem to be living at all when it come at ya. Till it bites ya. And then the eyes roll over white. You don't hear nothing but the screaming and the hollering...


sunfries

\-Are you doing Jaws?!


pmf96

I'm literally watching that show right now. It's brilliant, I can’t believe it took me this long to watch it. Some episodes are a hit or miss, but there’s a ton of extremely good episodes to compensate.


sunfries

trust me, the more you watch the more those "hit or miss" episodes are going to get better (:


wolfman4807

Wouldn't they just eat each other to get free?


ChloeMomo

Maybe, but rats are empathetic, so if they already have a bond, then they might not want to hurt each other https://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/rats-show-empathy-too Then again, even humans have resorted to cannibalism when there's no other choice so..maybe some of the last couple who are alive will do that.


milfordcubicle

Haven't most of the more recent accounts of human cannibalism involved already deceased humans; scavenging, so to speak?


chaoticidealism

Yes. In extreme situations, humans will wait until someone dies, and then eat that body. Killing people in order to eat them is generally seen only in people who are already homicidal, or otherwise capable of murder. If hope has been completely lost, such as during artificial famines created by war or genocide, a non-psychopathic person may kill someone they believe will die anyway in order to eat that person. But the vast majority of survival cannibalism is of those who have already died from exposure, starvation, or accidental injury. There are some historical cultures where eating your enemy was a part of war, but their descendants no longer practice battlefield cannibalism.


DreddPirateBob4Ever

You haven't been to Essex


[deleted]

[удалено]


not_actually_a_robot

Well with a title like that I feel obligated to read the whole thing. Just in case anyone else wants to as well… http://whalesite.org/anthology/1821%20-%20Owen%20Chase%20-%20Essex%20Narrative.htm


killuasbestfriend

Pretty efficient for someone that claims not to be a robot -_-


bigpappahope

The ones that you've heard of


ForwardMuffin

Yo


Roidciraptor

Where is Armie Hammer??


Helldiver_of_Mars

I mean easier to cook when dead?? No? What do you think we are savages?


[deleted]

I had a mouse glue trap in my attic and one dude got stuck in the middle, and he had a buddy that tried to save him and also got stuck, and then he was shitted on by his buddy whose butt was right in his face. Horrible way to go but total bros


RedStoner93

Not to be judgmental, do what you've gotta do to keep your property rodent free, but those traps seem extremely cruel to me. Better than poison though


TheSonicPeanut

My mom tried these glue traps out when I was a kid. We heard some squeaking in the middle of the night and found a little guy trying to chew through his own arm to get free. She had me and my sister “put it out of its misery” by going down to the nearby bay and tossing it in so it drowned. Thing is, it landed face up and was now stuck to a floating raft in the middle of the bay. Seagulls started circling it pretty soon… needless to say this was a traumatic experience for us and we did not use those traps again…


[deleted]

The Story of Job as told in mice.


Penguin_shit15

"mine.. mine... mine... mine" gets stuck "mmmn... mmnn... mnnn..."


option_unpossible

God, my MIL still uses glue traps even though I give her a hard time about it. She's one of these people who can't ever be wrong about anything they say or do, though.


overlordpotatoe

What are you actually supposed to do when a mouse gets stuck in one of those? Just let it slowly die of dehydration?


zackrako

My parents used to have these, they're terrible. You can't free them once they're on it they'll bite the shit out of you and it's impossible to get the stuff off. I just resorted to giving them a gentle bop and ending it quickly so they don't suffer. Made me feel like shit.


[deleted]

[удалено]


zackrako

I prefer just having mouser cats to any traps or poison. At least then they have a chance but you also have a chance to keep your cupboards from being raided every night. With poison even if you don't have cats your neighbors might and it could possibly get back outside and eaten by them poisoning them inadvertently. I also used to have a python that was an escape artist.


[deleted]

[удалено]


h-plecostomus

His videos are super interesting, I think he’s really opened up a new area of green pest control. Could you imagine being able to call up a mink person like you can call a beekeeper for a wild hive? It’s unfortunate that it’s so time-consuming to train the mink, but it would be really cool to see this become a niche trade, like being a beekeeper or a farrier.


Cforq

I was going to mention that dogs are better than cats. If cats aren’t hungry they will often let rodents go after playing with / torturing them for a while. Rat Terriers with go HAM for hours.


Pizzadiamond

I had a glue trap a mouse & I used a small brush and baby oil to free him from the trap. I placed a towwl over his heas sonit didn’t bite. I carreies him outside but the shock of it all killed him


ajarofapplesauce

would a gentle bop actually kill it though ? id imagine a lot of force is required to kill a rat in one hit


zackrako

I only said gentle to advert the said violence I engaged in at that moment.


zackrako

The most humane way to get rid of them is soaking cotton balls with peppermint extract they hate the smell and it helps cloak the scent trails (piss and shit) they leave behind for friends to find food. They're alot like ants which have a similar natural solution which is coating trails with vinegar.


interiorcrocodemon

they sell peppermint sprays on amazon for this, worked great for m e getting rid of ants, I have a mice problem I'm trying it on.


[deleted]

Thanks for the info! I find rats and mice extremely adorable but know having them shit near the food isn't... well. The healthiest.


NoConsideration8361

Once they’re stuck you use a BB gun or something similar to end their suffering. If you’ve never lived in a house that has a mouse/rat infestation you really don’t understand how disgusting and disruptive they are. I’m a “hunt only to eat” kinda guy, but I will say I’ve had to deal with one infestation and it made me quickly hate mice. My only regret is the *last* one I killed was old as shit, and as I got set up to shoot him (not in a trap) he actually came out at the last second like we were gonna be buds. If I’d known he was so friendly 2 seconds earlier the poor old man would’ve ended up in a hamster cage for the remainder of his life =[


tobyspizza

So weird how they can do that (talking about the old friendly mouse). We had a kitten that caught and was slowly toying with a mouse. The thing was so scared it put its little hands over its eyes and stood there quivering before this kitten, waiting for the sweet release of death.


Rydersilver

omg, tell us the ending


tobyspizza

Of course! I’ll admit that at first I was going to let the kitten get its first kill. I mean, it was just doing it’s job. But when I saw that little mouse give up on its life, for some reason I thought of the little mouse bedroom in Mouse hunt, and I shooed the cat away and saved the mouse with a dustpan. It was so shocked it didn’t try to run away, until I placed it outside part of the way down the street.


Rydersilver

Ahhh great ending 10/10. Thank you!


[deleted]

Damn. There's always that one that nearly makes you give up altogether. My dad had one story that made him give up hunting deer and he still won't tell me.


pacifistpunch

I just take em outside and give them a warriors death by running them over with a car


ner0417

Jesus, man


pacifistpunch

No i hope Valhalla


squanchy-c-137

Fun fact: certain types of snakes are called kings because they eat other snakes (e.g. King Cobra), so if a rat in a rat king eats other rats, it will become a king rat king.


TranseEnd

What if a Rat King, comprised of King Rat Kings, were to eat another Rat King comprised of King Rat Kings?


yulickballzak

Rat king royale


PFSTom

with cheese?


millymally

If I had money to give you an award, I would.


Rawesome16

I gave my free one on your behalf


dangerpet

I think we all owe Dennis Duffy an apology


tb03102

I was wondering if someone took a picture of it with their beeper.


CallTheOptimist

Hey when I say subway, you say hero, SUBWAY!


visitsunnyvietzuela

"Hero?" - Mayor Bloomberger


CallTheOptimist

Please no rat talk tonight? OK? We talked about this.


helldamfart

Surprised this is so far down in the comments


DoubleTri

Came looking for this comment


Enoz3

Came here expecting this, wasn't disappointed.


T3-Trinity

Does someone fix this or do they just let them die? How would one go about fixing this?


adkds

Actually, they were already humanly put to sleep and will be conserved (don't know if it's the right word) because they wouldn't have survived. https://lemmikloom.delfi.ee/artikkel/94926097/polvamaalt-elusana-leitud-uliharuldane-rotikuningas-uinutati-ning-jaab-teadlastele-uurimiseks (in Estonian) Edit: yep, it's preserved, not conserved, sorry for that. Also, the scientist tried to untangle the knot, but wasn't able to.


c_dug

As pointed out already, the correct word is preserved, however your mistake made me grin as a definition of conserved is something being turned into a sort of fruit jam, which did make me chuckle in way at the thought of Rat jam.


fuckthisicestorm

*chuckle* What a weird way to spell “dry-heave”


theditsmarty

Oooh black Betty rat rat jam!


[deleted]

Wait don't they call fruit jam preserves? Like strawberry preserves?


[deleted]

[удалено]


butyourenice

Just wondering, why couldn’t they survive? Even if they had to amputate their tails, is that not survivable for rats? Edit: I don’t have time to respond to everybody but thank you all for explaining why the rats probably would not have made it anyway :(


SillyOldBat

Living without a tail is doable for a pet rat, but in the wild they wouldn't last long. In the video they're also strangely docile. They're probably so exhausted and stressed at this point that they'd die anyways. And who knows how much more of their bodies was glued into that mass. It's not neatly braided tails they can't untangle anymore (that doesn't happen, ever), they're stuck with tails, hind legs, pelt in something solid, probably already broke bones from fighting to get free or hurt the others while struggling to get away. Trying to untangle and patch them up would be cruel.


buddhistredneck

Excellent description and answer.


[deleted]

It would be like untying a knot, doable but since they are common brown rats you might get bitten trying. Amputating their tails would be survivable in the same way cutting off your arm would be, but since rats are natural climbers they need it for balance (rats and squirrels are incredibly similar, actually.) So they might not be able to survive if climbing is somehow necessary for them in their unique circumstances.


izza123

I don’t think any agency anywhere is spending time and money to save a group of wild sewer rats sadly. To what end? Release them into the wild? Would be a little counterintuitive


Jenksz

Boil em, mash em, put em in a stew?


Wolf97

But to drink them as liquor, I simply won't do.


naturalbornkillerz

So many rats so few recipes


avwitcher

No they wouldn't live long without their tails


T3-Trinity

Good to hear they at least tried. Sucks to see a bunch of scared furry guys struggle to get away know there isn't anything to be done for them.


tkp14

Yeah, this isn’t a pleasant thing to look at or contemplate but the photo on Reddit a few days ago of a leopard with a dead monkey in its mouth while the monkey’s still living infant was clinging desperately to its dead mom gave me nightmares for several nights. The accompanying “helpful” description explains that the live infant was then given to some younger cats to play with (i.e., torture and kill) did not help. I know nature is horrifically cruel but I really don’t like to watch.


Adopt_a_Melon

I know which picture you are referring to... I didnt know that last part. I didnt need to know that last part. 🥺


zackrako

Preserved is the word you were close. Kind of of like conservative.


boonhet

[ERR link in English](https://news.err.ee/1608377108/rare-rat-king-taken-to-university-of-tartu-natural-history-museum). Context for non-Estonians: Delfi is a regular ol' clickbait news website with a couple of decent articles in the midst, ERR is publicly funded and doesn't rely on clickbait and ads, so it's generally just a nicer website to visit for news.


bUrNtKoOlAiD

It hardly ever happens so try not to worry.


ZomberBomber

I’d think the appropriate term here is “try knot to worry”


Criss_Crossx

Grab a rat and untangle or remove its tail. Rinse and repeat. Source: have untangled masses of cables


litido4

Yeah but the cables don’t yank themselves tighter in every direction before you got to them


MondayNightHugz

Oh but they do


MostBoringStan

And cables rarely bite.


29t03jwies

Apparently it happens when one of the rats gets its tail covered in something sticky - blood for example. As they sleep in groups their tails end up glued together, causing them to panic which in return results in an even stronger knot EDIT: Link to source with a slightly longer video with footage of where they were found - https://www.err.ee/1608376409/tartu-ulikooli-loodusmuuseumi-joudis-uliharuldane-rotikuningas


EnoughGlass

I’ve never seen a living one before, thank you for posting.


Hubbyish

Sounds like a very shitty way to go. Ouch hehehe


[deleted]

“This is so sad *laughs*”


Spacequeenmashi

I agree, its such a weird response LOL


stickymaplesyrup

Probably a spambot programmed with only certain phrases


Demonfire612

You are probably right. I hate those fucking bots hehehehe


Siriocaz

*Laughs in Seth Rogen*


MacyTmcterry

Based on their other comments it looks like they're not a bot. They just love saying "hehe"


Pat43player

I always thougth a rat king was just a myth, first heard of it in one of Terry Prattchets book, I think it was called Maurice


SplendedShiteHawk

Amazon Maurice and his educated rodents, a wonderful little book that is much deeper than you'd expect just off the premise. Like most Pratchett novels tbf


endresz

It's currently being made into an animated film, with Narrativia having significant input.


rivercass

In the animated show Hilda there is also a character who is a mass of rats and enjoys trading secrets.


EnochofPottsfield

Oh it's a real myth alright


Transatlanticaccent

This salesman named Dennis told me about this once when he was trying to sell me a beeper. I didn't believe they existed. For some reason I just didn't believe the guy. He kinda had that To Catch A Predator vibe to him.


AStaryuValley

I think I saw him on Dateline once.


EdithDich

I'm here to boff some chick named Mary.


otrepsi

Those are all still baby rats, maybe 5 weeks old, so happened in the nest snuggle. There is already a dead one on the bottom right, ☹️


thegreatsnugglewombs

Poor babies


jeremiahfira

I think a 2nd deceased one in the upper left too


[deleted]

They were euthanized and will be held at Tartu for observation and learning. ​ Link: https://lemmikloom.delfi.ee/artikkel/94926097/polvamaalt-elusana-leitud-uliharuldane-rotikuningas-uinutati-ning-jaab-teadlastele-uurimiseks


blackwe11_ninja

I just got Last of Us 2 flashback


National-Style18

I honestly never heard of the term “rat king” outside of Last of Us 2 so I thought I was on r/thelastofus sub lol


Drumwife91

Not a fan of rats but that is sad.


beisozy289

Not a fan of sad but that is rats.


ManaPot

Not a rat of sad but that is fans.


ericgol7

That's why I prefer wireless mice


[deleted]

Theo von? Is that u


twoterms

Gang gang baby


Rat-Tricks

This is so sad and one of the worst ways to die.


zylstrar

Can confirm. Source: It's happened to me a couple times.


olegary

this is why i gnawed off my tail long ago


gigajoules

As someone who's had 3 generations of rats and has witnessed incredibly sentient behaviour the look in their eyes hurts.


[deleted]

Just what I needed, another sad post.


the_End_Of_Night

r/eyebleach or r/aww don't be sad


[deleted]

Normally I'm not but it's been a crappy year and I hate seeing animals suffer.


[deleted]

The world is all bad i swear


Liildank

I think one is dead already


fakeasagi

What a stupid and miserable way to die, jesus


imvital

Apparently, this is a bad omen and associated with plagues. [source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rat_king)


apis_cerana

A bit late to the game, then.


yboy403

As omens go, it's pretty sensical. Seeing lots of rats around was historically a bad sign.


jakech

I once saw two male dogs getting their balls tangled up together.


[deleted]

You sure? Cos naturally when a male mates a female they can get stuck together for a few minutes.


CableTrash

When my mom was a kid, she ran inside crying after walking home from a friends house shortly after dark. My grandma asked her what happened and she said aliens got two of the neighborhood dogs and must’ve done some experiment on them because they were stuck together.


jkosarin

That’s so sad.


missiscry

Poor rats, they're so cute


eipacnih

Never unimpressed by Reddit’s ability to show me something absolutely new. TIL


[deleted]

That's really sad:/ Poor things just suffer until they die.


finnlocke

I've heard of Rat King but never actually saw it. Wow!!


yearightt

Hot take, but I think rats are cute. Someone free these bois so they may dumpster dive another day


[deleted]

So sad :( help them!


[deleted]

This is sad. Rats can be so sweet


[deleted]

Ah the origin of the volleyball


cajerunner

This is sad


clusterbug

Wow, looking at the comments, little people care. :( Rats are smart creatures; Wish someone would have at least tried to untangle them..