MOSCOW. (RIA Novosti ecology adviser Andrei Neuronov) – Big cities are a magnet for animals that have been living close to man for centuries.
They come to urban areas mostly for food and refuge. Many are also lured by the “human smell” ingrained in their genetic memory.
Synanthropic animals, as they are scientifically known, seem to have no difficulty adapting to urban life. They evolve individually as well as collectively, keeping pace with the increasingly fast urbanization and complex city landscapes. The challenge of surviving in an urban environment sharpens their brains and motivates them to study human psychology ever more keenly.
No accurate statistics are available on Moscow’s vagabond animal population. The number of stray dogs in the city now totals an estimated 30,000 and that of cats is believed to be close to 25,000. Crows, pigeons, and sparrows dwell here in their hundreds of thousands, and there are millions of rats and mice. Moscow also teems with cockroaches, mosquitoes, flies and other insects that are part of the synanthropic fauna.
Let me start with rats, if only to give some spotlight to this most embattled of scavengers ahead of 2008, the Year of Rat according to the Chinese lunar calendar.
Moscow’s rat population consists predominantly of gray rats, referred to by scientists as rattus norvegicus. They scavenge on all kinds of food and have no fixed habitat. Their vitality and surviving skills remain a mystery even to biologists. Sanitary services’ efforts to reduce rat numbers in Moscow remain largely futile. Exposure to toxic substances may kill some of the population, but many survive and produce offspring that are resistant to the poison used.
Rats’ food-procuring techniques are amazing because of their variety and sophistication. For example, they often use their tails to get tasty leftovers out of cans and pots. There are quite a few anecdotes giving credit to the inventiveness of rats. One has it that a worker at a confectionery fainted when she saw a chocolate-coated rat climbing out of a bowl in the factory.
Rats are clever enough to exploit other members of their race for their personal ends. An acquaintance told me about how once she saw a rat using another as a shopping cart. One rat was lying on its back, holding an egg with its forepaws, while the other pulled him along by the tail with his teeth.
Rats’ high level of intelligence is confirmed by large quantities of experimental data showing that rats have a phenomenal ability to find their way out of mazes. This must be one of their inherent qualities.
Rats are clan animals and the structure of their clans is quite complex. Each member has a special function assigned to it, such as gathering, spying or fighting. They stop performing their duties only in emergency situations, like floods or fires, when the survival instinct subdues all others.
Rats are always on the run. Some just love traveling around, especially by sea. It is only natural therefore that books about sea adventures often mention rats among a ship’s crew. But rats can also be found riding in cars and on airplanes.
Between humans and rats, there is no love lost. But a lot of nice things can be learned from the rats, actually. For example, they are usually very devoted to their family and clan and will go to great lengths to ensure the well-being of their loved ones.
Rats are rarely kept as pets and most pet rats are some sort of exotic variety. A domesticated rat or mouse becomes a pariah to its own race and will die if it is abandoned by its human owners.
Moscow is also home to many gray crows, scientifically known as corvus cornix. They consider themselves to be the city’s natives. Indeed, their ancestors settled in the area long before the founding of Moscow 860 years ago. Their supremacy over the Borovitsky Hill was undermined when human settlers chose the site for the Kremlin fortress. But the indigenous inhabitants stayed despite the pressure. Nowadays, from the gardens outside the Kremlin wall, flocks of crows can still be seen rising into the skies at dawn as they head to dumps on the city outskirts for breakfast.
Ornithologists distinguish between resident and visiting crows. The residents are usually smarter. With ample, easy-to-obtain food available for them in modern Moscow, they now have more time for leisure. Their favorite pastime in winter is sliding down ice hills. And in summer, they enjoy pecking at gilded cathedral domes, leaving a trail of glittering gold dust behind them. Such tricks, undermining the structures’ safety, are frowned upon in the architectural community, but the birds always prove smart enough to get away with it.
Crows are also good artists. Many can juggle and perform acrobatic feats, and if they manage to startle their audience, the whole flock will burst out “laughing.”
Flocks of crows are known to have a system of vocal signals, which they use to warn one another of a danger, to report a hunting prize, or just to communicate with partners in a game.
Crows’ contacts with humans are quite rare, though, and are usually limited to the dignified begging for food. Ornithologists talk about crows occasionally turning to human passers-by for help when they have a nestling drop out of the nest.
The feeling of solitude in a big city is not something experienced solely by humans. Outcast birds with no respect for avian ethics are sometimes spotted stealing a chick or ruining a nest. Scientists say such hooliganism is a reaction of the animal’s psyche to life in an urban environment.
The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s and do not necessarily represent those of RIA Novosti.
