Starving Rats Are Turning to ‘Cannibalism’ Amid the COVID-19 Lockdowns

• Some rats in the United States are reportedly turning to cannibalism due to food shortage caused by the coronavirus lockdowns.
• This, according to experts, is bad news for us because it means that these rats may turn to become “smarter, more aggressive, and more resilient” in the near future.

With many establishments closing their doors due to the coronavirus pandemic, it looks like we have a new problem: starving rats may soon resort to cannibalism.

Left with limited or no options for food, rats in America are turning against each other to satisfy their hunger as they face lack of food in garbage bins outside restaurants, hotels, and other places.

According to experts, this could lead to rats becoming more aggressive in the years to come.

As Fordham University biological-sciences research scholar Michael H. Parsons explained, rats are looking for ways to survive the food shortage and that’s no good news for us, humans.

In an interview with Insider, Parsons shared:

“You have a smarter and even more resilient group of the population that have not been previously connected to humans, or at least not observed by humans directly.”

Meanwhile, urban rodentologist Bobby Corrigan said that rats will be forced to do what they can to adjust to their new normal and still be able to feed themselves – even if that means cannibalism.

“They’re mammals just like you and I,” pointed out Corrigan, “and so when you’re really, really hungry, you’re not going to act the same – you’re going to act very bad.”

And with them killing each other, it may initially seem like a good thing since that will reduce their population. Still, experts believe that this wouldn’t be ideal in the long run since they’ll become “the smartest and most resilient” kinds of rats we’ve ever seen.