Rats!

[snopes]

According to an old urban myth, there is one rat for each person in New York City. Although this statistic is called into question by researchers every so often, the city’s own Department of Health cites the one-rat-per-person statistic at times.

http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories...30_26rats.html

[Jay Tea]

A few weeks ago I wrote all my favorite things about Park Slope in the summer. But there is one thing about the summer that I hate: Rats.

I have a great deal of respect towards and a keen eye for our inadvertent bedfellows, et rattus, and have often wondered about the blending of the 'One rat per person' and 'never further than x metres from a rat' 'statistics'.

There 'are' millions of rats in New York, as there are in 'any' major Metro. Given the way garbage seems to be on the street a long time in NYC the rats are certainly more noticable, I saw plenty, in November as well (I was there again in April but it was so fecking cold even the rats were stamping their feet!) Big, chunky trash-fed, strolling indifferently between the mounds of bags - perhaps it's this high visibility factor that leads to the 'Oh noes Rats!' media factor?

Either way, wherever there are humans leaving piles of viable food everywhere there will be rats taking advantage - my Sister found fox cubs in her bunker the other day - she says they stink, and rip up her garden, but they keep the rats away, so she's happy

[Tarquin Farquart]

Originally Posted by Jay Tea

Either way, wherever there are humans leaving piles of viable food everywhere there will be rats taking advantage - my Sister found fox cubs in her bunker the other day - she says they stink, and rip up her garden, but they keep the rats away, so she's happy

We have a lot of foxes rond our way, the cubs are very noisy at night, but that seems to be their only problem.

[Ana Ng]

There 'are' millions of rats in New York...

Seen yesterday in Time Out New York:

I live in a bad neighborhood. Yesterday I saw a rat on the street. Which isn't that bad, but this one had a knife in its back and its shoes were missing...