B-rats, popularly known as brats are black, medium-sized, long-tailed rodents with webbed wings and well developed eyes. Brat, a crossbreed between a rat and a bat were first developed for medical research at the Center for Biological Sciences at UCLA in the early 1970’s. Unlike other crossbreeds that usually end up sterile, brats are highly fertile. This helped them breed in large numbers and currently there are over 10 million brats in US.
Brats are medium sized mammals measuring 5.5 – 6.5 inches in length and usually weigh anywhere between 50-75 grams. As a crossbreed it has inherited qualities from both the bat and the rat. They have webbed wings similar to bats, however, unlike their nocturnal counterparts they have well developed eyes like rodents. This helps them navigate even in daylight. Although they have a long tail and their body looks similar to rats, brats are 20% smaller and weigh around 60% lighter. Like rats, brats are incredibly resilient mammals, which feed on pretty much anything and survive anywhere. Their ability to fly has given them an opportunity to hunt for various small insects like grasshoppers, bugs, butterflies etc.
Over the past few years, the dramatic increase of the population of brats has caused significant concern in various communities. Brats have become increasingly aggressive and have become a household menace. They have moved up from feeding on trash to feeding on fruits and vegetables in farmlands. There have also been several recent reports of brats attacking children enjoying treats.
Various companies have started developing products to keep the brats away from farms, homes and children. Most of these devices work by producing extremely high frequency sound waves that temporarily disorient brats! The government is looking at various large-scale techniques to control their growing population. The development of brats in effect literally took the rodent menace to new heights!