In the 1950s, Curt Richter, a professor at Johns Hopkins, did a famous drowning rats psychology experiment. This experiment, though cruel, demonstrated the power of hope and resilience in overcoming difficult situations.
Ironic
Norway rats live in large hierarchical groups, either in burrows or subsurface places such as sewers and cellars. When food is in short supply, the rats lower in social order are the first to die. If a large fraction of a rat population is exterminated from an area, the remaining rats will increase their reproductive rate, and quickly restore the old population level. This makes it important to have a well thought out and aggressive eradication and prevention plan, one that does not leave any survivors and also does not allow recolonization from elsewhere.
Drowning Rats Psychology Experiment: Resilience and the Power of Hope
Ironic
Norway rats live in large hierarchical groups, either in burrows or subsurface places such as sewers and cellars. When food is in short supply, the rats lower in social order are the first to die. If a large fraction of a rat population is exterminated from an area, the remaining rats will increase their reproductive rate, and quickly restore the old population level. This makes it important to have a well thought out and aggressive eradication and prevention plan, one that does not leave any survivors and also does not allow recolonization from elsewhere.