Rat King

Rat King is a very rare phenomenon first observed in Germany in which a huge number of rats grow together by stacking up with each other with help of their tails. The tails are joined together by mud, blood and dirt. The rats are unusually large in size and grow collectively. They even die in the same bunch. These rats are a source of a number of contagious diseases including plague. In German culture, king rats are considered as a very bad omen.

The phenomenon was prevalent in the times when rats were black but later when they were replaced by brown and grayish colored family of rats, the trend slowed down. The clusters of rats have been found in a couple of locations and they have been preserved in museums. Usually rats between thirty and fifty in number are group into such huddle. Whenever the rat king is detected, it is immediately killed as they are extremely infectious and can cause serious illness.

The largest mummified rat king is kept in the museum of Mauritianum, Altenburg at Thuringa. It comprises of thirty two rats which were discovered in the annum 1828. The rats are sometimes preserved in alcohol and they are also kept in museums of Stuggart, Hameln and Goettingen. Various species of rats become part of the cluster especially Rattus rattus and Rattus rattus brevicaudatus. The latest remains of these rats were found in the month of April in the annum ‘86 and are maintained in the museum.