New York's rat population has genetically diverged into "uptown" and "downtown" subspecies

Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2017/11/30/the-rats-of-new-york.html

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Not surprising. The rats living in or near the Unseen University in Ankh-Morpork have diverged from normal rat populations due to the strength of the magical fields generated in the vicinity, so we’ve seen this kind of thing before.

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And that’s not even counting the “Sensei” breed of the Upper East Side.

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This is a really excellent book about the ecosystem of rats in NYC and other big cities.
https://www.amazon.com/Rats-Observations-History-Unwanted-Inhabitants/dp/1582344779

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And another anthropomorphic rat movie will be along shortly.

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Brilliant cover design. (I love map art)

SX323_BO1,204,203,200

Edit: There should really be a DC edition.

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But where do the rats of wall street fit in this scheme?

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Time to update that Billie Joel song.

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Is this about actual rats? or we talking something else?

Wonder how divergent the Brooklyn rats are?

As a data point, the mice in Times Square are now cohabitating with crickets, cats, and dogs.

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My first thought…

Uptown rat,
She will steal your food and kill your cat
I bet she’s never met the downtown type
Either way you should fear for your life…

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Isn’t this the plot to The Warriors?

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Don’t forget about Boomtown Rats.

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I’m gonna try for an uptown mouse
She’s been living in her white bread house
As long as anyone with a hot blood cat
And now she’s looking for a downtown rat
That’s where I’m at

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Isn’t that just duck… ratty!

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I don’t see as many rats in the trackbeds as I used to 10 years ago. And the ones I do see are younger.

Just my zoological observation.

Damn snooty uptown rats think they are better than everyone else

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Midtown rats feel dissed.

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Makes sense to me! I always noticed the downtown rats around NYU were very artsy-hipsterish, while the uptown rats near Columbia were of the nerdy-scholastic sort.

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