000			02333cam a2200337Mi 4500
001			on1392045473
003			OCoLC
005			20240702140555.0
008			230804s2024 enka b 001 0 eng d
040			_aYDX _beng _erda _cYDX _dBDX _dOCLCO _dU@M _dOCLCQ _dNZCPL _dSFR _dUKRFW _dVP@ _dNFG
020			_a1399402501
020			_a9781399402507
035			_a(OCoLC)1392045473
092			_a599.35 _bS562
049			_aNFGA
100	1		_aShute, Joe, _eauthor.
245	1	0	_aStowaway : _bthe disreputable exploits of the rat / _cJoe Shute.
264		1	_aLondon : _bBloomsbury Wildlife, _c2024.
300			_a272 pages : _billustrations ; _c23 cm
336			_atext _btxt _2rdacontent
337			_aunmediated _bn _2rdamedia
338			_avolume _bnc _2rdacarrier
504			_aIncludes bibliographical references and index.
520			_aRats represent the worst of us or at least, that's what we tell ourselves. They are rapacious, over-sexed, pestilent and, on occasion, cannibalistic. But, as with all 'vermin', rats are in fact a mirror species, reflecting back to us our worst excesses. They are also a creature to which we owe a lot. Arguably no other animal has done more for the advance of human medicine than the rat. In Stowaway, Joe Shute unpicks this complex relationship between human and rat, documenting the arrival of the brown rat in the West during the expansion of global trade and how it has pushed our black rat species to the brink. Joe charts its course through history from diaries kept by soldiers in the trenches, to present day where an estimated 10 million rats are believed to live in Britain alone. As well as tracking rats in the wild and meeting experts to help unpick rat intelligence and social structures, Joe attempts to overcome his own aversion to these often reviled rodents even adopting two pet rats to better understand them. Stowaway is a tale of rat catchers, crumbling buildings and back alleys, taking the reader into a part of the natural world they normally hurry past. It is also a story of the human condition, asking why we deem some animals acceptable and condemn others to the shadows.
650		0	_aRats.
650		0	_aRats _xHistory.
650		0	_aRats as pets. _932430
650		0	_aHuman-animal relationships. _985860
650		0	_aRats _xSocial aspects.
994			_aC0 _bNFG
999			_c386948 _d386948