Today's Animal Mystery: Indian Mouse Problem Solved by...Rats

Police in India have found an unlikely solution for a mouse problem: rats. Almost all over the state of Haryana, mice have been getting into just about anything they find appetizing, including official court documents, food supplies intended for people, and even the fiber sacks used to store confiscated narcotics. Landmine removal efforts near the border with Pakistan were jeopardized in 2002 by rodents moving anti-personnel mines from their mapped locations. On a tip from a local citizen about a month ago, the police in Karnal, a district with a particularly high mouse infestation, bought two domesticated albino rats and released them into problem areas. It worked, the police said, "like magic." They have since been releasing the rats every night into the storage room of official documents, and the mice have "just disappeared." No one knows why it works, but people sure are curious, and the police have already ...