A hole was smashed into the concrete floor by a rat, and it became a popular check-in spot, with some people even paying coins...

Previously, a "rat" in Chicago, USA, became popular! Not only did it attract people from all over the city to check in, it even made money and became a mascot...

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We can clearly see the shape of this "rat" from the picture, including its nose, claws and tail, and it left a not-so-small deep hole on the ground.

The mouse went viral after it was posted on social media by Chicago comedian and writer Winslow Dumaine in January 2024.

I don’t know if it’s because the mouse is too figurative (or for some other reason), but the mouse, which has existed for 20 years, suddenly went viral on the Internet and became a local “tourist attraction”. In addition to being visited, I wonder if the mouse has any other function for making wishes? People began to throw coins into the pit and became witnesses of some weddings.

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On January 19, 2024, an unknown person filled the hole, and later someone restored it to its original state. In short, this hole has caused too many strange news. However, what is more imaginative is how a mouse can leave such a clear mark on the concrete?

Seth Mager, a researcher at Lincoln Park Zoo, provided some ideas for solving the case, which made it even more confusing. First, the big hole looked like it was made by a rodent that fell from a tree, but it was most likely not a rodent, but a squirrel . Second, the fact that a hole was made meant that the cement was not dry. Normally, workers work during the day, but rats are nocturnal animals . Third, the tail did not look like that of a squirrel, but Mager said that this was related to the landing method and could not necessarily be used as evidence.

How this mouse/squirrel fell and created this huge hole is still a mystery. | References

Another mystery is, did the mouse/squirrel that fell in survive?

Mager believes that the viral spread of rat pits is a good thing, reminding us that even in cities, humans are closely connected with other animals. Indeed, you may have seen animal tracks on concrete roads, but for some animals, this can be fatal.

In January 2023, a dog was also stuck in the wet concrete, unable to pull its feet out. It waited in despair for a long time, its body covered with maggots, feces and wounds, and the people who found it took an hour to pick it up from the concrete road.

This puppy was stuck on the cement road and was dying. | Reference 5

In 2019, a raccoon fell into the concrete at a construction site. Part of its body had even turned into "stone". It had also lost its strength after a long struggle.

In 2017, a pigeon approached a trash can of auto repair supplies and its feathers were all stuck to the trash can. The bird's feathers are very fragile, so people had to use some complicated processes to finally clean them.

The three sparrows mentioned below. | Reference 7

Three sparrows were found stuck in white glue used to repair cracks in the asphalt road . After people spent hours scraping the glue off, they found that the birds still couldn't fly and had to be sent to the Wildlife Conservation Organization, which said it often treats such distressed wildlife. Local staff thought this was "ill-considered" and that the situation would be much better if a fence was added.

Snow melts on snowy days and hot asphalt roads in summer can also have an impact on dog paws. This golden retriever's paw was burned by the road and had to be wrapped. | Reference 12

On the coast, concrete coastlines have also had a negative impact on marine life, leading to the loss of important habitats for coastal organisms. The smooth concrete seawalls not only replace ecosystems such as seagrass and mangroves, causing animals to lose nutrients, but also their homes.

To this end, Hong Kong built its first "ecological coastline" in 2019. It consists of three parts. The mangrove coastline not only prevents the coastline from being eroded by waves, wind and rain, but also provides a large amount of food for shrimps, crabs and fish, and is an important habitat for animals.

In the rocky ecological coastline and vertical ecological coastline, the concrete is no longer smooth. The ecological bricks of the rocky ecological coastline are laid unevenly, which can mainly store some seawater during the ebb and flow of the tide, allowing intertidal species to grow on it . The original high concrete wall is equipped with some holes and pottery plates, which also provide a living environment for organisms.

Every brick of the rocky ecological coastline, as well as the spaces between bricks, have an uneven design. | Reference 11

On the other hand, some cement companies have begun to make "bio-friendly" concrete, which has a pH closer to seawater and emits less carbon dioxide. Other biocements contain bacteria that can grow in it and even make the concrete self-healing.

ECOncrete is an Israeli startup that is working on this. Some of the new concrete buildings they have created are more friendly to marine life. Some marine ecologists say these products can more than double biodiversity. The calcium carbonate deposits caused by animals on concrete also make the buildings themselves stronger and save maintenance costs.

ECOncrete manufactures concrete structures on the seafloor that allow marine life to cling to them. | Reference 9

These novel attempts, and every bit of attention paid to animals and our surroundings, are useful. Nature-based solutions are about being more thoughtful, not only for today’s ecosystem, but also to reduce the extra costs we have to pay to fix and deal with the consequences of climate change in the future.

“Nature-based solutions are definitely the way forward from many perspectives,” commented a marine biologist.

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Source: Bringing Science Home (id: steamforkids)

Editor: Wang Mengru

Proofread by Xu Lailinlin