Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Smartest Rats I've ever seen....


Okay when did mice get such juju  behaviour? Like self defense to another level, These aint no ordinary rats,you thought humans were the only ones with the ability to poison each other, think again....
Researchers have discovered strangely human behaviour in a rat found in Kenya and other parts of East Africa: it deliberately poisons its enemies.
In a trait common among humans, but rare in animals, the African crested rat collects poison from the msungu tree (msunguti or arrow poison tree) and coats itself in it.
Woe unto the predator that eats the witchdoctor rat, it soon dies of a heart attack.
Poison from the msungu tree is widely used, particularly by the Kamba who use it on arrows.
“We observed the animals gnawing, chewing the roots and bark of the Acokanthera schimperi trees, known to be poisonous, then rub a coarse toxic gel onto the special hairs on its flanks to be  whenever the animal is bitten or mouthed by a predator,” Dr Agwanda said. [Read More]

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