Stowaway: The Disreputable Exploits of the Rat

by Joe Shute

A cultural and social history of the rat, examining how one creature achieved total world domination and has inspired such love and loathing.Rats are creatures which inspire fear and fascination in equal measure. Their lives are more closely entwined with humans than any other animal, but they remain the most misunderstood of all species. Yet, arguably no animal has sacrificed more in the pursuit of human health but also been so resolutely blamed for spreading plague and pestilence. No animal has been so determinedly targeted by humans, and still managed to survive and thrive in our midst. No animal is so often derided as being vicious and cunning, but possesses such a rich and complex inner life. In Stowaway, Joe Shute, explores our complex and often contradictory relationship with the rat. He travels the world from sub-Saharan Africa to the Rocky Mountains and visits some of the most rodent-infested cities on earth to unpick the myths we tell ourselves about rats and investigate the unexplored secrets of their own extraordinary lives. He examines the way in which rats have shaped human history and meets cutting-edge researchers harnessing the power of rat intelligence to achieve incredible results. He explores the hidden world they inhabit beneath our feet as well as their role in natural ecosystems. And through his own pet rats, he discovers the close emotional bonds they form with humans when given the chance. Ultimately, this is a book which questions what the lives of rats reveal to us about our own, and whether there might be a better way to live alongside our ancient enemies in the modern age?

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Nature, Animals, Science, Ecology, Biology

272 pages, Hardcover

First published April 11, 2024

Reviews

[anna ◡̈]

35% in: i’m learning so much about rats, wow

[John Yunker · Rating 4 out of 5]

We have the pandemic to thank for this eye-opening, empathetic and long-overdue tribute to one of our most misunderstood and widely despised relatives.

The rat.

And I use relative intentionally as I learned from the book that the human species descends from rats.

During the early days of Covid, while so many people were out adopting puppies, author Joe Shute and his wife adopted a pair of rats which they named Molly and Ermentrude. The author had always had a fear of rats and viewed lockdown as an opportunity to get up close and personal with an animal that has outsmarted humans for centuries.

As Shute gets to know his new companions he takes us on a journey across England and around the world as he demolishes common myths and, no, there are not millions rats underneath manhole covers just waiting to burst through and invade human civilization. The truth is that they are far less populous than most media (and pest control companies) would have you believe. One study estimated there were fewer than seven million rats across all of England (there are more dogs). And maybe instead of trying to eradicate rats (a futile task) the author suggests a more practical and less violent next step: Coexistence.

He writes: “After centuries of largely futile efforts to rid cities of rates, adopting a more benign approach is beginning to gain currency. One intriguing anthropological study recently conducted in Amsterdam, considered the rights of rates to belong in a city. … If left along, with with access to food, urban rat populations with remain entrenched in the same locations for many generations, if not centuries.”

But it is also true that rats have an insatiable need to chew through things, sometimes things we’d rather they not. Like our homes and automobiles. Rats can even gnaw their way through concrete. Their jaws are more powerful than bears, hyenas even sharks — and 20 times more powerful than the bite of a human. But they also need to keep chewing as their front incisors never stop growing. Without continuous nibbling, their teeth would extend out and curl back inside their skulls, killing them. So perhaps we who have suffered from a rat’s gnawing should know that it wasn’t personal, but partly out of survival.

And did you know that rats laugh? Rats are capable of altruism, regret, and possess impressive powers of memory as well as being able to judge the passage of time. We know this through numerous studies which, ironically, led to the deaths of these same creatures.

Which underscores just how poorly treated rats are in society. They have no rights to speak of in the US. In fact, we have no data on exactly how many rats are killed within research labs because no such records are required. The EU, at least, requires a scientific justification for research, which has led to a decrease in the use of rats in studies.

Across Asia, rats are not so demonized. A rat occupies the first sign of the Chinese Zodiac and rats are featured in Japanese art. Yet in the West, rats are synonymous with pests and disease. And God help any criminal who dares ‘rat’ out his or her colleagues.

Another irony, because rats are loyal to loved ones and will often risk their lives to protect them.

Rats are widely associated with carrying diseases and this is still sadly true in many emerging countries. Shute takes us along to Africa as he observes researchers trying to eradicate rats in certain villages. It’s not a easy scene to witness, the killing of hundreds of rates, but Shute stresses that industrial agriculture, such as monoculture sugar plantations, has fueled the problem, placing poorly housed employees and their families in close proximity to virtually endless supplies of food and the rats who feed on it. If society only did a better job of caring for the human species — better housing and infrastructure — these horrible rat encounters would be far less common.

But for all the negative publicity surrounding rats, it should also be known that rats save lives. Shute introduces us to an organization that trains rats to identify land mines. These rats have helped clear mines from 33 million square meters of land in Cambodia. One rat, Magawa, made global headlines in earning the PSDA Dickin Medal for serving bravely in conflict zones.

After reading this book one might wonder what species will be left for us to kill with impunity.

Perhaps that’s the point.

If rats are worthy of respect and even love, what does that mean for the many other species that we ignore or, worse, kill and eat without a second thought.

This book gave me a reason to reconsider rats and, hopefully, it will do the same for you.

NOTE: This review first appeared on EcoLitBooks.com.

[Rev · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating book about rats and how they integrated themselves into our modern society. There was entire chapters on Alberta (which allegedly has no rats, or at the very least, very few that are not native species) and various islands that have been "taken over" by non-native species. I already knew that rats are not nearly as numerous as one would think, but I was surprised by just how few of them actually live in a given area.

Definitely worth a read.

[Keeks · Rating 3 out of 5]

A more global understanding of the rat population at large. An interesting dissection and understanding of the culture for and against rats; we’ll see if this changes how I feel when I see them in the bright streets and crowded parks of NYC.

[Grace T · Rating 4 out of 5]

this has nothing to do with the actual theme of the book but as someone who has been obsessed with selkies since childhood i would very much like to know where Shute is sourcing his offhanded statement on page 220: "These haunting [seal] cries inspired the selkie in folklore: visceral and often vengeful stories of magical transformations of seals into human form to lure people into the ocean" (emphasis mine). i am brutally transported to discussions with a high school frenemy who repeated the same seemingly baseless idea purely to rile me up. my man did you know you scarred me for life /j

admittedly Shute did somewhat redeem himself with a later comment about selkies blurring the line between land and sea--I do always love to see a good liminality reference--and the book itself is a charming blend of memoir and natural history that I can't treat too poorly just for one unsourced claim made while setting a scene. still tempted to find a way to contact him and ask for the source though. because maybe seth needs vindication after all these years, if it's out there.

[Tweedledum · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating blend of natural history, myth, history, personal narrative and inspiration. Reading about the APOPO charity and their HeroRATs that find land mines or identify tuberculosis carriers led me to sponsor a rat!

[Margaret · Rating 5 out of 5]

The rat. The animal we all love to hate, to fear, and be disgusted by. It turns out that we are wrong, and Joe Shute tells us why. He examines the life and customs of the several breeds of rat, and concludes that left to themselves, rats are intelligent, sociable, emotionally intelligent, clean, and very very bright. It's in their interractions with man that things fall apart, and Shute tells us why. He shows us rats in the service of man - detecting mines in warzones for instance; he shows us rats living successfully alongside man; he shows us rats exhibiting care and compassion. He travels far and wide to examine rats thriving in all kinds of circumstance, as well as showing us where rats can be a genuine problem, and explaining why (it's man again). He examines the problems caused by many extermination methods: poisons used for killing them may then poison animal and other populations and ultimately make life harder for us too. A fascinating, readable and informative book that has quite changed the way I feel about this most reviled of creatures.

[Jane Night · Rating 4 out of 5]

I grabbed this book because I wanted to learn more about rats. I want to get pet rats in the next two years and wanted to understand more about their origins.
The author of the book has pet rats while also exploring rats as vermin.
This book has a lot of information about the history of rat extermination which is hard to read as a rat lover. It also has lovely moments where the author talks about his relationship with his pets.
This is a good overview about rats in all the forms they exist around humans.
There were sections where I was a little bored and places that felt a bit repetitive but there were also places I literally cried because of the emotional experiences of the author and his pets.
I think if you want to understand rats (and can handle all the extermination talk) you will really enjoy this book.

[angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Wherever humanity’s impact is greatest upon the earth and the filth and detritus of our own creation is at its most destructive, you will find rats, too. They show us what we have done.” (case in point: there are trained, 3-ft-long rats who are sniffing out unexploded american mines in cambodia so they can be disarmed)

i learned a lot from this book and come out fonder of the little beasts. humans hate rats because they want what we want: our houses, our food. like us, rats are social creatures who sometimes display remarkable altruism and at other times, terrifying bloodlust.

[Rob Sedgwick · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is called Stowaway but it's not about the rat's journey across the planet over the aeons alongside unwitting humans. It's more of a look at where we are today with rats. The author looks at various human activities involving rats - cohabitation, working rats (e.g. landmines), infestations, rat-free zones (e.g. Alberta), extermination and keeping pet rats. It's very much a pro-rat book, full of lots and trivia and titbits about our furry companions, who turn out to be more like us than you might think. I'm probably a bit more open-minded to rats than before reading it.

[Lkking · Rating 3 out of 5]

Much more to this book than the title would lead you to believe. From the sixth extinction to nurdles to rat behavior vs. human behavior to history to rat lovers and rat haters, there is much to digest in this work.

[Jenna · Rating 4 out of 5]

y’all don’t think about rats enough

[c auchterlonie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun and fantastic read that is less about rats and more about us humans.

[Miriam Huxley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such an interesting read. A personal journey alongside a historical one. Rats redeemed!

[Katie Alexander · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

this was a very interesting read! very fun to see him go from someone who is terrified of rats to someone who owns and loves 4 pet rats.

[Jack · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've always been curious about rats, they are in the category of spiders, hyenas and snakes. Personally the worst living creature is the mosquito.
Joe Shute and his wife are the proud owners of 2 pet rats, who are genetically the same as the gray street rat , only bred to look tan or white.
I know very few people who have actually seen a rat. I had one experience with rats, 44 years ago after removing a soap stone sink, that drained into the backyard, rats came into the cellar, as they had been living in a drainage pipe. I killed 3 or 4 rats with what looks like a giant mouse trap.
I haven't seen a rat since?
I learned that most people have a a natural revulsion too rats. Rats have been persecuted since the beginning of recorded history, in England at one time every corner had a large box where they contained rats, they put a dog into the box. and the dog that killed the most rats was the winner. for example one dog killed 200 rats in 13 min.
There are numerous businesses that their main occupation is killing rats. Over the years millions have been poisoned. Millions have been killed for experimental purposes in science labs. A lot of the problems with rats can be blamed on ourselves, leaving food exposed-city rats live off of our garbage!
Rats have been blamed for plagues, which is partially factual, as the real danger is in the fleas that
live on rats, but they also can live on any furry creature.
Some of the facts I learned was that a rats bite, relative to its size is more powerful than a grizzly bear bite. Surpisingly enough, rats make good pets, they are smart and friendly and clean. They are sentient creatures that experience pleasure and pain. They live in colonies, form close bonds with each other, and assist each other when in trouble. Rats surprisingly are used to detect TB and used for bomb detection!
What I liked about this book is I learned a lot about a creature I knew virtually nothing about, what I didn't care for was much of the book was based on interviews with scientist and rat exterminators. I would have liked to have them compared to other rodents such as chipmunks and squirrels. I myself are annoyed by chipmunks who eat the tomatoes in my garden and dig holes throughout my yard. I once saw a skit where rats wore big bushy squirrel tales and everyone started to feed them as if they were squirrels. I would have liked more comparisons. Though the author did point out that rat bites were rarely reported , but dog and cat bites were numerous.