Rescued Rats Learn to Drive and Even Get Around Obstacles

Rats get a bad rap in the animal world, and when most people think about them, they think of them as being dirty and found living in trash and filth. But rats are highly intelligent animals that make great pets and can be trained to do some amazing things. On Instagram, Emperors of Mischief share videos of enrichment activities they do with their rescued rats Kuzko and Kronk. This includes teaching them to drive a tiny car! The rats are getting good at driving, and they shared a video at the end of July showing the rats learning how to get around obstacles in their tiny car.

The video starts with one of the rats hopping into the car. Their humans had set up an obstacle - a box - to see if the rat would be able to figure out how to get around it. The first attempt leaves the rodent crashing into the box. The video continues showing both rats trying to get around the box. Watch to the end to see if they finally figure it out!

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Emperors of Mischief's video blew my mind! Who would've ever thought you could teach a rat to drive not only in a straight line but around obstacles, too! People left more than 100 comments about how cool it is to watch Kuzko and Kronk drive around in a tiny rat car. Everybody is impressed!

Related: Woman Trains Rescue Rats to Drive Tiny Car and It's As Cool As It Sounds

What It Takes to Train a Rat to Drive

Emperors of Mischief explain what it really takes to get around that obstacle in their caption, "Driving around an obstacle — it’s a bigger challenge to learn than you might think! Rats usually rely on their whiskers more than their eyesight for perception and are much more used to controlling their own little bodies than a vehicle! Therefore, introducing the concept of turning the vehicle to go *around* an immovable obstacle has taken several steps." The rats had to learn to turn right, go straight, turn right again, go straight, turn right, go straight one final time to reach where the treat dangles. That sounds like a lot of work, and it is! The two didn't give up, and their humans said that Kuzko is catching on and really understanding what it takes to get around the box.

Emperors of Mischief also offer in the caption that they provide this driving training as an enrichment exercise, "We give our two bonded rescue rats, Kuzko and Kronk, 10-minute driving lessons once a day as a mental enrichment activity. They choose when to enter and exit the vehicle and take breaks as needed. Kuzko and Kronk also enjoy a variety of other enrichment during their free roam time."

Rats are highly social animals who need regular enrichment just like other pets do to keep from becoming bored and destructive. They can learn to complex tasks (like driving!) and can even learn to play with toys and use tools. They have excellent memories and can show empathy. While a pet rat isn't for everybody, they sure do seem to be pretty cool animals!

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