Forget the items about the South Brooklyn raccoons, the Brooklyn parrots and, even, the recently posted Carroll Gardens iguana. This item is about Old School urban wildlife: rattus norvegicus, and the extent which our little rodent friends are apparently flourishing--really flourishing--in Prospect Park. To quote Daily Slope:
Has anyone else noticed more rats than usual in Prospect Park? I know there have always been rats there, but this summer it seems like every time I go to the park, I see rats. I run on the dirt path next to the road, and rats keep dashing across the path in front of me -- I've been running in the park for years, and this never used to happen...Also, what happened to the hawks? I never see hawks anymore (maybe because I'm always looking down, watching out for rats). Did the hawks leave the park, causing the rat population to explode?There's ongoing discussion of the rats and the rat-hawk situation over at the Park Slope Message Board.
· Prospect Park Rats: Hawk-Rat Balance Disrupted? [Daily Slope]