John H. Gerard
New York City might have pizza rat, but Chicago tops the list of the most rat-infested U.S. cities, according to a 2016 list compiled by Orkin. The Big Apple was second, followed by Washington, D.C. (make your own politician-rat joke). Globally, London and Paris also have a well-documented problem with rats. In fact, the City of Light was forced to close several parks in 2016 due to a rat crisis. Monster Rats
Think you’ve seen a really large rat? Probably not if you compare it with the Bosavi woolly rat, a species discovered in 2009. Believed to be the biggest rat, it is more than 32 inches (81 cm) long (including the tail) and weighs more than three pounds (1.36 kg). By comparison, the common house rat is about 20 inches (50 cm) long and weighs approximately 12 ounces (0.34 kg). Unfortunately, scientific studies have determined that common rats are getting larger. On the positive side, researchers think that common rats’ physiology prevents them from becoming