An extra month may not sound like much, but female rats can have a litter every month. Each litter is eight to 16 baby rats, Richardson said: “That is a recipe for accelerated population growth.” ...

An extra month may not sound like much, but female rats can have a litter every month. Each litter is eight to 16 baby rats, Richardson said: “That is a recipe for accelerated population growth.” ...

Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. A rat leaves its burrow at a park in New York City on Sept. 17, 2015. ( AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File) A rat ...

“A rat doesn’t hibernate, so if it has just a day or two to come above ground and replenish its food cache in its burrow, that can bolster its survivorship and lead to more baby rats come ...

“Rats are really well-adapted to take advantage of a food resource and convert that to new baby rats that you’ll see in your neighborhood,” Richardson said. While temperatures are rising ...

An extra month may not sound like much, but female rats can have a litter every month. Each litter is eight to 16 baby rats, Richardson said: “That is a recipe for accelerated population growth.” ...