Rodents are important vectors of many diseases that affect humans and animals. They can transmit pathogens through their bites, feces, urine, saliva, or fur. There are over 60 diseases caused by rodents including the plague, leptospirosis, hantavirus, rat-bite fever, and lymphocytic choriomeningitis. These diseases can result in more than 400,000 deaths every year globally (WHO). Rodents can also cause damage to crops, food, and property. Therefore, rodent control and prevention are essential for public health and safety.
Rodents also exhibit a range of behaviours that reflect their adaptation to different environments and challenges. Rodents are mostly nocturnal or crepuscular, meaning that they are active at night or during dawn and dusk. They use their keen senses of smell, hearing, touch, and taste to navigate their surroundings and find food sources. They also communicate with each other using vocalizations, body postures, scent marking, or grooming. Rodents are social animals that form complex social structures based on dominance hierarchies, kinship ties, territoriality, or cooperation. Some rodents live in large colonies with hundreds or thousands of individuals, while others are solitary or live in small family groups.
Rodents use a variety of signals to communicate with each other and with other species. They can produce vocalizations that range from ultrasonic to audible frequencies, depending on the context and the receiver. They can also use body language, such as postures, gestures, facial expressions, and tail movements. Moreover, they can secrete chemical substances called pheromones that convey information about their identity, sex, reproductive status, health, and mood.
Rodents are capable of learning from their own experience and from observing others. They can acquire new skills and knowledge through trial-and-error learning, associative learning, observational learning, and social learning. They can also modify their behaviour based on the consequences of their actions or the feedback from others.