Best Rat Killer? - Traveller world development question

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I'm developing the history of a world with a limited biosphere in which
the newly arriving Solomani (Nth interstellar wars period) accidentally
introduce the common rat. After failure of targeted viruses , what
predator would have been a good choice to introduce to control the rat
population? Bear in mind, they would not want it to also prey upon the
other domestic animals introduced (goats, sheep, chickens, etc).

 

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One of the factors is that, this being a terraformed world , the
biodiversity is very limited. The predator in question would need to
be able to subsist on rats throught it's life cycle. My first thought
was [house] cats, but I couldn't see just weened kittens taking down a
rat.

 

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The predator will have to exisit in the wild as a new part of the
ecosystem without man as a caretaker.

 

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On 15 Mar 2005 13:41:39 -0800, "mathilda" <smart_aleck72@yahoo.com>
wrote:

>I'm developing the history of a world with a limited biosphere in which
>the newly arriving Solomani (Nth interstellar wars period) accidentally
>introduce the common rat. After failure of targeted viruses , what
>predator would have been a good choice to introduce to control the rat
>population? Bear in mind, they would not want it to also prey upon the
>other domestic animals introduced (goats, sheep, chickens, etc).

There's an obvious traditional choice for rat control favoured for
just that reason.

 

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On 15 Mar 2005 15:32:31 -0800, "mathilda" <smart_aleck72@yahoo.com>
wrote:

>One of the factors is that, this being a terraformed world , the
>biodiversity is very limited. The predator in question would need to
>be able to subsist on rats throught it's life cycle. My first thought
>was [house] cats, but I couldn't see just weened kittens taking down a
>rat.

Er...why use just weened kittens? I mean, c'mon, let them grow up a
little before you release them into the wild...

 

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"mathilda" <smart_aleck72@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1110922899.288494.264280@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com...
> I'm developing the history of a world with a limited biosphere in which
> the newly arriving Solomani (Nth interstellar wars period) accidentally
> introduce the common rat. After failure of targeted viruses , what
> predator would have been a good choice to introduce to control the rat
> population? Bear in mind, they would not want it to also prey upon the
> other domestic animals introduced (goats, sheep, chickens, etc).

Using certain predatory birds or snakes would help control the rats without
too much impact on livestock except for maybe the chickens (mainly it would
be their eggs and chicks that would get eaten). But well designed chicken
coops should reduce this to tolerable levels. Just don't use the really
large predator birds like Golden Eagles and use snakes that kill by
constriction rather than venom and most critters as big as a chicken or
larger should be ok. But don't use both as most predatory birds that eat
rats also eat young snakes. Or use species of birds and snakes that like
different environments.

The downside to using predator birds and snakes is that any native bird
populations will be impacted quite a bit. You could also use cats but I
think you would have more problems with them getting to the chickens.


--

-smithdoerr

 

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"mathilda" <smart_aleck72@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1110922899.288494.264280@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com...
> I'm developing the history of a world with a limited biosphere in which
> the newly arriving Solomani (Nth interstellar wars period) accidentally
> introduce the common rat. After failure of targeted viruses , what
> predator would have been a good choice to introduce to control the rat
> population? Bear in mind, they would not want it to also prey upon the
> other domestic animals introduced (goats, sheep, chickens, etc).
>

Several small breeds of dogs were bred for just this purpose. The Rat
Terrier leaps to mind, for one. And, if the culture at hand is up to it,
there's 50 Ways to Wok Your Dog....

 

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On 15 Mar 2005 13:41:39 -0800, "mathilda" <smart_aleck72@yahoo.com>
wrote:

>I'm developing the history of a world with a limited biosphere in which
>the newly arriving Solomani (Nth interstellar wars period) accidentally
>introduce the common rat. After failure of targeted viruses , what
>predator would have been a good choice to introduce to control the rat
>population? Bear in mind, they would not want it to also prey upon the
>other domestic animals introduced (goats, sheep, chickens, etc).
>


history suggests that pretty much all attempts along those lines have
been dismal failures at best and ecological catastrophes at worst.
--
"Ineffective, unfocused violence leads to more violence. Limp,
panicky half-measures lead to more violence. However, complete,
fully-thought-through, professional, well-executed violence
never leads to more violence because, you see, afterwards, the
other guys are all dead."

 

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On 15 Mar 2005 15:32:31 -0800, "mathilda" <smart_aleck72@yahoo.com>
wrote:

>One of the factors is that, this being a terraformed world , the
>biodiversity is very limited. The predator in question would need to
>be able to subsist on rats throught it's life cycle. My first thought
>was [house] cats, but I couldn't see just weened kittens taking down a
>rat.
>
mother cat raises the kittens till they can hunt alone.
--
"Ineffective, unfocused violence leads to more violence. Limp,
panicky half-measures lead to more violence. However, complete,
fully-thought-through, professional, well-executed violence
never leads to more violence because, you see, afterwards, the
other guys are all dead."

 

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On 15 Mar 2005 17:01:14 -0800, "mathilda" <smart_aleck72@yahoo.com>
wrote:

>The predator will have to exisit in the wild as a new part of the
>ecosystem without man as a caretaker.
>

Yes? So?

 

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"mathilda" <smart_aleck72@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1110922899.288494.264280@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com...
> I'm developing the history of a world with a limited biosphere in which
> the newly arriving Solomani (Nth interstellar wars period) accidentally
> introduce the common rat. After failure of targeted viruses , what
> predator would have been a good choice to introduce to control the rat
> population? Bear in mind, they would not want it to also prey upon the
> other domestic animals introduced (goats, sheep, chickens, etc).
>
Mouse pox... Nuclear mouse pox... Just add a little IL-4...

http://objectz.com/columnists/joe/02122001.htm
http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn4318

 

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Thank you for the well though out and thought provoking reply.

The world background I am building involves a world seeded with
geneitcally modified terraforming grass: genetically stable, very
hardy, high CO2 to O2 conversion, but also grain producing for human
and livestock consumption. Tall order, but I figured the ancients were
up to the challenge. Unfortunately, the world was left before the next
steps could be taken, so when the Humans refugees stumbled across it it
had a breathable atmo, ready food source, but bare of animal life. I
figured the stowaway rats would go feral and expand across tha planet
faster than the humans.

My intnention was to make it a resource poor, boring mudball so I could
toy with the effects of technology regression (ok, you know how to make
lasers and machine guns, but don't have any metal ore or fossil fuels-
what now?). As such, I was looking for a non-high tech approach.
Since the landmass is equatorial without an axial tilt, a reptilian
solution sounds ideal.

 

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mathilda wrote:

>I'm developing the history of a world with a limited biosphere in which
>the newly arriving Solomani (Nth interstellar wars period) accidentally
>introduce the common rat. After failure of targeted viruses , what
>predator would have been a good choice to introduce to control the rat
>population? Bear in mind, they would not want it to also prey upon the
>other domestic animals introduced (goats, sheep, chickens, etc).
>
Domestic cats kept outddors but fed by humans are a reasonably effective way of reducing rodent populations. For targeted elimination of a particular building or warren, the combination of ferrets and terriers is most efficient (ferrets enter the rat tunnels and kill them where they sleep, any flushed out are killed by the terriers), but this requires human supervision to work. If you are not worried about the local ecosystem, red foxes and mongooses have been used as biological control with variable levels of success. In warmer climes, monitor lizards and smaller pythons have also been introduced for rat control. Note that all of these will prey on chickens or their eggs. Goats and sheep will be safe.

Remember that the predators cannot reduce the rat population to a lavel less than that required to sustain the predator population (or at least, not for long). Since rats have a shorter generation time that their predators, and from what I can tell of your scenario the predators will need to rely on only one source of food, this will lead to cycles of boom and bust in the rat and predator population. In warm climates, this can be overcome by using cold blooded predators - they can go long periods of time without food (months) so short term oscillations in the food supply will not overly affect the population. Also, since a cold blooded predator can get by on less food than a warm blooded predator of similar body size, they should be able to maintain a higher population and more effectively control the rats. Of the warm blooded predators, weasels have the shortest generation time and can best keep up with rodent fluctuations, but are hampered by a very high metabolism (they are also quite effective in that they can follow the rats wherever they go, right down into their burrows). If your predator can subsist on another food source (insects, say) this is a plus - the foxes, mongooses, and monitors listed above are dietary generalists in this regard, happily eating bugs, worms, eggs, and (for the monitors) carrion when larger prey is not around. Monitors and mongooses are active during the day, however, while rats are out at night - this limits their effectiveness. Foxes, wildcats, pythons, or mustellids (weasels, polecats, mink) whose daily activity patterns are closer to those of rats, are better in this regard.

Also remember that in normal situations, pest rats cannot survive long away from human habitation. An ecologically barren terraformed world is not likely to be a normal situation, however.

Human nature being what it is, your settlers will probably try many different rat predators in an uncoordinated effort to kill the menace, and you will end up with bullsnakes, owls, hawks, bobcats, polecats, foxes, pythons (in warmer climates), monitors (also in warmer climates), mongooses, genets, civets, and various other critters running loose.

Luke

 

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In article <d1c4as$m7$1@news.service.uci.edu>,
LukeCampbell <lwcampbe@uci.thetrash.edu> wrote:
>mathilda wrote:
>
>>I'm developing the history of a world with a limited biosphere in which
>>the newly arriving Solomani (Nth interstellar wars period) accidentally
>>introduce the common rat. After failure of targeted viruses , what
>>predator would have been a good choice to introduce to control the rat
>>population? Bear in mind, they would not want it to also prey upon the
>>other domestic animals introduced (goats, sheep, chickens, etc).
....
>Remember that the predators cannot reduce the rat population to a lavel
>less than that required to sustain the predator population (or at least,
>not for long). Since rats have a shorter generation time that their
>predators, and from what I can tell of your scenario the predators will
>need to rely on only one source of food, this will lead to cycles of
>boom and bust in the rat and predator population. In warm climates,
....
>go, right down into their burrows). If your predator can subsist on
>another food source (insects, say) this is a plus - the foxes,
>mongooses, and monitors listed above are dietary generalists in this
>regard, happily eating bugs, worms, eggs, and (for the monitors) carrion
>when larger prey is not around. Monitors and mongooses are active

Or the predator population can just be artificially boosted by putting
food out for them. Taking care that food will be distributed instead of
grabbed by just a few, and that you don't put out so much food that they
forget to hunt.
--
"Not that there's anything wrong with just lying around on your back. In
its way, rotting is interesing too... It's just that there are other ways
to spend your time as a cadaver." -- Mary Roach, "Stiff", 2003.

 

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"mathilda" <smart_aleck72@yahoo.com> wrote:

> The world background I am building involves a world seeded with
> geneitcally modified terraforming grass: genetically stable, very
> hardy, high CO2 to O2 conversion, but also grain producing for human
> and livestock consumption. [...] I figured the stowaway rats would
> go feral and expand across tha planet faster than the humans.

How about hawks and owls? Northern Harriers could work the day shift,
and Short-eared Owls on the night shift. Both species feed mainly on
rodents and prefer to nest on the ground, in tall grass.

--
>;k

 

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"Warren Okuma" <wokuma@lava.net> writes:


>"mathilda" <smart_aleck72@yahoo.com> wrote in message
>news:1110922899.288494.264280@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com...
>> I'm developing the history of a world with a limited biosphere in which
>> the newly arriving Solomani (Nth interstellar wars period) accidentally
>> introduce the common rat. After failure of targeted viruses , what
>> predator would have been a good choice to introduce to control the rat
>> population? Bear in mind, they would not want it to also prey upon the
>> other domestic animals introduced (goats, sheep, chickens, etc).
>>
>Mouse pox... Nuclear mouse pox... Just add a little IL-4...

>http://objectz.com/columnists/joe/02122001.htm
>http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn4318


Nope, can't think of any way *that* could go awry.

--
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Icy colon barge Cancer Biology
Frosty divine Saturn Stanford University
www.stanford.edu/~jmbay/ got my mojo properly adjusted