The plunging temperatures of the polar vortex and the unending winter have all of us looking for a silver lining, and I honestly thought I’d found it: Weather this cold must mean we’ll have fewer rats and mice this spring, right?
Rats have evolved to take on winter
“I would suspect that most of the mice in downtown Chicago are inside right now,” says David H. Wise, professor of ecology and evolution at UIC.
“If there has been substantial die-off due to the cold, then it may take months for the rat population to rebound,” he says. “However, the survivors may be able to reproduce at a higher rate due to less competition for resources.”
Fluctuations in temperature may have a mild effect on our local rat and mouse populations, but their high reproductive output means Chicago residents likely will not see fewer rodents.
