A month ago, I started a tournament to determine the greatest urban animal. We considered 26 animals from iguanas to pigeons to parakeets and I had YOU vote on your favorites. We learned along the way that people really like dog-ish animals and disrespect pigeons. I also used the tournament as an excuse to ponder the concessions we make to wildlife in our cities. It was a fun journey… but was the outcome ever in question? Last week, the rat beat the hawk in the final to take the crown.
I said from the start that the rat was the favorite. But I stand by my initial diagnosis that the real reason the rat won wasn’t its ubiquity or unparalleled impact on planning, but because we secretly kind of love them. In general (and despite my effort to make this not a popularity contest), likable animals like foxes, hawks, and coyotes did well compared to animals with much wider impacts on cities like roaches and pigeons. The evidence that we all have rat Stockholm syndrome has only accumulated since the tournament began, so to salute our victorious rodent I’m presenting a quick round-up of this year’s most culturally relevant rats and rat stories… and its only the end of January.
Chicago Rat Hole
There is a rat-shaped hole in a Chicago sidewalk that’s become a local tourist attraction. It looks like a squirrel to me (big thighs), but people want to think it’s a rat.
People have been journeying to it, throwing coins into it for luck, and this man even PROPOSED in front of it.
Reminds me a bit of when someone placed a small bottle of Hennessy next to a dead rat in Manhattan a few years back and people really ran with it.
Rat Selfies
The New York Times ran an article about rats who take selfies. These are pet shop rats but the project underscores the general intelligence of the species. Rats problem-solve, they have memory, and they learn behaviors. If pigeons are amazing examples of inborn instinct and ability, rats show the craftiness and adaptability of urban wildlife. Again, I think we sort of like this about them.
Scabby the Union Rat is out in force
The construction unions here in NYC have deployed Scabby, the amazing, shaming, inflatable rat, outside the Burberry store in Soho. Looks like he’s been patched up recently. This is the third time I’ve seen Scabby since moving back to NYC, labor unrest is alive and well.
Gothamist’s Rat Merch
The unparalleled local NYC news site Gothamist was offering a rat-tote bag as the reward for participating in its year-end funding campaign. In the email promoting the swag, the rat is literally holding a dog!
Is NYC’s rat mitigation… working?
For years rodent experts have been saying that poison, traps, and other killing techniques are pretty much useless and that the only way to control rat populations is to limit their food sources. To that end, NYC has been rolling out trash containerization efforts for local businesses. Containerization, literally putting trash in a solid bin, is novel in NYC but is pretty much the norm in most of the developed world. Only in NYC have we tolerated giant leaky bags of trash on the street for so long, and we have the rodent population to show for it. Rat sightings in one pilot zone are down 68%, although people are complaining that the new bins take up parking space (sigh).
But the NY-Post points out that overall rat complaints are up since Mayor Adams took office with this adorable graphic. They also couldn’t help somehow putting a right-wing slant on the whole thing.
I don’t like rats but I respect them, and we might as well adopt a weird pride/affection in them since they don’t seem to be going anywhere soon. Anyway, it’s been fun! Thanks to everyone who voted and participated!
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I didn't even know I liked rats . . . until I read this column!
I mourn the pigeon loss, but the rat is the rightful winner. Those bins would make great canvases for city art.