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The distribution of the underground rat population of a south Yorkshire drift mine

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 May 2009

G. I. Twigg
G. I. Twigg
Affiliation:
The Zoology Department, Royal Holloway College, Englefield Green, Surrey
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Test baiting has shown that rats underground are distributed in a series of discrete colonies, each one in close association with a group of men. Interplay between colonies is rare in large mines although evident in small ones. In the absence of stables the rats must depend almost entirely on miners’ food scraps.

These observations were made during work carried out under a research grant from Safety in Mines Research Establishment, Ministry of Power, and I am indebted to the Ministry for permission to publish the results. I should like also to express my gratitude to Dr E. T. B. Francis who supervised the work, Mr. C. S. W. Grice of the Ministry of Power and Miss B. B. Jones of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food for their help in various aspects of the work.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Hygiene , Volume 60 , Issue 3 , September 1962 , pp. 283 - 288
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1962

References

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