Rats Lesson

What are we going to learn today?

1) What are Rats.
2) The problems they cause to our people, our
agriculture and our natural environment.
3) Where the rats came from and how they
arrived in our country.
4) What can you do to stop them. – Integrated
Pest Management
 What are Rats
• Rats are mammals and a major pest
that damage coconut and other important
crops.

• Rats are living things. They need air, food

and water
• There are 3 species of rats that
  damage crops

• Rats can breed readily when food is

available and weather is suitable

• Females have litters of around 6-10

young and this can be more than twice
a year.
Parts of a Rat
Rats are mammals. They have fur and give birth their babys
Long bare tail
Small ears
Short fur
Small black eyes

4 legged
Different types of rats

The black rat also has large (hairless) ears and a

slim body but is larger than the Polynesian rat.

The brown rat is the biggest of the three rats. They

have small features in comparison such as their scaly tail
which is shorter than their body length and they have
small ears.  The Polynesian rat can be identified by its pointed
nose and slim body that is a red-brown to grey-brown
colour with a white stomach.
 Problems caused by the Rats
• Rats come into homes to look for
food. They can bite people and
spread diseases.
• Rats kill many other animals and
birds. Threatened species are
very easily killed by rats. Some
extinctions of threatened animals
have been caused by rats.
• Rats can damage the fruits,
flowers, trunks and crown parts
of the coconut palm through
chewing.
Problems caused by the Rats

• Rats can spoil coconut and other

crop products by discharging their
faeces and urine on them. The
faeces and urine can also cause
diseases in humans and other
animals.
• Coconut fruits that have fallen and
have large holes are commonly the
main sign of rats being present.
• Rats can also swim a long way and travel between
u rit y !
islands.
Bio sec
• Rats are frequently found hiding on boats, ships
and aircraft.
• Ships and aircraft should be regularly checked for
the presence of rats.
• Most countries have some form of biosecurity for
docking ships.
• The import of rats is prohibited into and out of
many countries. 
 
What we have learnt today
• Rats are living things. They need air, food and water.
• Rats are a mammals and a major pest that damage
coconut and other important crops. 
• Both the Polynesian rat and the black and brown rat can
be found in the pacific.
• Rats can damage the trunks and crown parts of the
coconut tree including the fruits.
• Rats can spoil coconut products by discharging their
faeces and urine on them.
• The integrated pest management approach involves
cultural, natural and chemical approaches.
Thats it for me
See you next time!!

Made by: Matej Vidović

Boring stuff
• Coconut Pests and Diseases Toolkit 2018 -
http://www.pacificbiosecurity.org/coconut-toolkit-2018.html
• Rats information factsheet -
http://coconutpests.org//pests-and-diseases-of-coconut/rats
More boring stuff
Slide 1: Rat image courtesy of unnamed author - http://pngimg.com/uploads/rat_mouse/rat_mouse_PNG23553.png, License: Creative Commons 4.0 BY-NC,
Photo of coconut tree courtesy of unknowned author - https://pxhere.com/en/photo/720462, the image is released free of copyrights under Creative Commons
CC0.
Slide 2, 12, 14: Coconut illustration courtesy of unnamed author - http://pngimg.com/download/9151, License: Creative Commons 4.0 BY-NC
Slide 3: Image of rats- http://pngimg.com/download/23557, License: Creative Commons 4.0 BY-NC  , Image of mouse eating on cage courtesy of unnamed
author - mammal-rodent-fauna-rat-whiskers-vertebrate-115001-pxhere.com - The image is released free of copyrights under Creative Commons CC0.
Slide 4: Rat photo courtesy of unnamed author http://pngimg.com/download/2464, License: Creative Commons 4.0 BY-NC , Coconut tree illustration courtesy of
unnamed author - http://pngimg.com/download/2483, License: Creative Commons 4.0 BY-NC 
Slide 5: The Polynesian rat. Close up showing the dark band on the hind foot (© Gerald McCormack, Cook Islands Natural Heritage Trust), The large features
and dark colour of the black rat (a) compared to the larger bodied brown rat (b) (© Crown Copyright 2009, GBNNSS), The brown rat showing its short tail and
small ears in comparison to its large body size (© John Hitchmough, Flickr)
Slide 6: Image of Republic of Kiribati Flag courtesy of wikicommons (Public domain), Unknown author - http://pngimg.com/download/23557 -
Creative Commons 4.0 BY-NC, Rat photo by unnamed author http://pngimg.com/download/2464 - Creative Commons 4.0 BY-NC, Coconut tree illustration
courtesy of unnamed author - http://pngimg.com/download/2483, License: Creative Commons 4.0 BY-NC 
Slide 7: Photo of coconut tree by unnamed author - https://pxhere.com/en/photo/101096 - The image is released free of copyrights under Creative Commons
CC0, Photo of mouse by unnamed author - https://pxhere.com/en/photo/794465 - The image is released free of copyrights under Creative Commons CC0.
Slide 8: Large holes gnawed in to fallen nuts (© TNAU) - http://www.agritech.tnau.ac.in/expert_system/coconut/coconut/coconut_pest
%20and_diseases.html#rat
Slide 9: Image of ship and harbour © Allan Burne – Pacific Biosecurity, Image of plane courtesy of satit_srihin at FreeDigitalPhotos.net, Rats image courtesy of
unnamed author - http://pngimg.com/uploads/rat_mouse/rat_mouse_PNG2457.png, License: Creative Commons 4.0 BY-NC 
Slide 11 and 13:  Rats image courtesy of unnamed author - http://pngimg.com/uploads/rat_mouse/rat_mouse_PNG2457.png, License: 
Creative Commons 4.0 BY-NC , Coconut tree illustration courtesy of unnamed author - http://pngimg.com/download/2483, License: 
Creative Commons 4.0 BY-NC 
Slide 19: Image of man holding coconut by unnamed author - https://pxhere.com/en/photo/1391922- The image is released free of copyrights under Creative
Commons CC0.