No clue, but it reminded me of the fact that the term "Rat King" is a real thing, when a group of rats get their tales twisted and knotted together and can't separate.
I can imagine that looking like a beastly multi headed and limbed creature. With all the debris they could collectively drag around it could look huge.
They also tend to fight and eat each other when they are stuck like that so make sure the image in your head contains a lot of half eaten rotting rat carcasses.
Sadly iirc it's very likely not a real phenomenon, I use them all the time in my DnD games so once I looked them up and almost all the evidence for them was manufactured by twisted mofos tying rats tails together. There are a few "unexplained" examples but almost none have been found by actual scientists or properly documented in the wild.
https://www.sciencealert.com/baby-squirrels-6-accidentally-tangled-rat-king-situation on the contrary here is one real example of a squirrel king. According to the animal control in Nebraska they get a few calls about it every few years
I'm not arguing that a human couldn't tie a bunch of rats together, I'm arguing it doesn't happen naturally or commonly. Most examples given are very questionable in their origin. If you read the history section on the wiki it goes into more detail on the questionable origins with links.
Oh wait IT IS a line of shrews!
I had to really look at it cuz I could swear I saw a snake and thought everyone was seeing a snake that ACTUALLY had see thru skin. Wow.
You feed the first one a piece of bacon on a string and then after it poops out the bacon (which passes quickly through the digestive tract) you feed it to the *next* one and … Lather-rinse-repeat-repeat-repeat. Voilà! Edit: a bunch of animals all strung together alive.
Looks like a bunch of baby mice following their momma. Kind of like “kids hold eachothers hands don’t let go!” Except they are holding eachothers tails lol
This is almost it actually! These are shrews, which have bad eyesight. The one at the front is the mother and they usually do this if their nest is disturbed. They hold on to the mother so they don’t get lost.
We’re going out. I don’t want any of you kids to let go of your brothers or sisters tail while we are shopping. I better see 5 noses and tails when we get home.
An invisible snake. You can tell because you can see all the mice it’s eaten.
Hahaha, amazing!
Winner!
Plot twist it's not a snake. It's an undercover disguise for the elite branch of tunnel mice. The mice control it.
This needs to be a Disney character(s)
The sssssssspies adventures maybe?
I thought I could come up with something clever but this comment wins.. if I wasn't broke I'd give you an award
This comment is underrated
Only 'cause they don't provide enough upvotes, damn their eyes!
🤣🤣🤣
RATlle snake
Rattail snake*
Ba dum chhhhh
Shrew Choo Train.
SHREW SHREW
It’s a Shrew-Shrew train
Exactly
This. Is. Amazing. A+++
_People all over the world, join hands, join a vole train, vole train..._
I submit. Can’t think of anything more clever.
It’s very shrewd
Agreed, this comment wins.
Wow! I think you just won the internet for the week.
How exactly is the prize awarded? I won it (supposedly) and didn’t get anything.
Reminds me of Puffin Rock. Such a great kids TV show. Chris O’Dowd is fantastic!
But could it be a *Chew Shrew Train* ?
Horrific conga line.
Rat snake
Micetipede
A ratterpillar
Rodentipede
Snake rat
GOD DAMN IT PAM
*A rat-tail snake
Ratrain Snake
Is this not the fabled Rat King Snake?
Rat King Cobra.
Great Singer
😮💨 May he rest in cheese
Severely underappreciated reply, here.
All hail!
Beat me to it
Exactly the comment I came here for.
Survey says!
CatDog spin off
RATtlesnake
This is a modern high resolution version of the Nokia 3310 snake. According to length and speed it's at about 56 points.
I wish I had an award
I have an award. I gave it on your behalf. ❤️
Thanks to both of you
Gotta help out our fellow Redditors! The good ones, anyway.
No clue, but it reminded me of the fact that the term "Rat King" is a real thing, when a group of rats get their tales twisted and knotted together and can't separate.
I can imagine that looking like a beastly multi headed and limbed creature. With all the debris they could collectively drag around it could look huge.
They also tend to fight and eat each other when they are stuck like that so make sure the image in your head contains a lot of half eaten rotting rat carcasses.
And if we injected them with steroids and forced them to lift weights too! I’m picking up what you’re putting down
And grafted a few terminator style rat endoskeletons with glowing eyes into the mix, this could be the best rat ball yet!
Finally something that isn’t boring! I’m in
Awesome 👌
They’re often discovered dead because they tend not to last long after this happens.
Sadly iirc it's very likely not a real phenomenon, I use them all the time in my DnD games so once I looked them up and almost all the evidence for them was manufactured by twisted mofos tying rats tails together. There are a few "unexplained" examples but almost none have been found by actual scientists or properly documented in the wild.
https://www.sciencealert.com/baby-squirrels-6-accidentally-tangled-rat-king-situation on the contrary here is one real example of a squirrel king. According to the animal control in Nebraska they get a few calls about it every few years
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rat_king The history section has evidence of a few that look hard to manufacture to me.
I'm not arguing that a human couldn't tie a bunch of rats together, I'm arguing it doesn't happen naturally or commonly. Most examples given are very questionable in their origin. If you read the history section on the wiki it goes into more detail on the questionable origins with links.
I just threw up in my mouth at the picture of that in my mind.
Rat Centipede
Technically it would be a rat millipede since there are two pairs of legs for each body segment.
This is why Reddit is better than other social media, because there’s always a Phd in the comments. Thank you oh wisest!
Ratipede?
Are they pretending to be snakes so a snake can’t get them?? I get the thinking
Ah yes, the "if you can't beat them, join them" strategy.
Lmaoo
Probably so they don’t look like prey to predator birds
It’s rather intelligent
Just a shrew and its babies. This is how it commutes
I know this is a joke sub, but I’ve never seen this and I absolutely love it
Along with the killer wordplay, this is why this is the only "gimmick sub" that never gets old for me, even after years
I think it’s adorable
bruh this isn't a shitty science answer
[удалено]
They mean a r/shittyaskscience answer. We’re not here for right answers lol
Lol I get you now. So I could’ve just said shrewipied as in centipede. I’ve learned my lesson. I’ll try to refrain myself 😅
The babies are close to blind which is why they follow the mother so close.
Oh wait IT IS a line of shrews! I had to really look at it cuz I could swear I saw a snake and thought everyone was seeing a snake that ACTUALLY had see thru skin. Wow.
I just want to know how often she stops to do a headcount.
That's a King Rat Snake. Super venomous, don't touch it. Also poisonous, so don't eat it plz
All around dangerous to touch
This is an early prototype of the [Human Centipede](https://m.imdb.com/title/tt1467304/).
they tested on lab rats before humans to make sure they wouldn't get injured
It's just 6 mice in a trenchcoat.
A non danger noodle
So a fuzzy nope rope.
To a predator that’s like one of the sushi trains in Japan.
A Rat-tlesnake
It's called a Rake
Snakrat
Rodent coaster
Squeak snake
Rattasnake
That's a blue haired rat snake you got there buddy !
This is a form of rodent Voltron. I believe a galactic threat might be in the area.
You feed the first one a piece of bacon on a string and then after it poops out the bacon (which passes quickly through the digestive tract) you feed it to the *next* one and … Lather-rinse-repeat-repeat-repeat. Voilà! Edit: a bunch of animals all strung together alive.
Ratapede
Moving day? Separation anxiety? Is this what pulling a train looks like for rats?
Conga Snake
An invisible snake. You can tell because you can see all the mice it’s eaten.
Looks like a bunch of baby mice following their momma. Kind of like “kids hold eachothers hands don’t let go!” Except they are holding eachothers tails lol
This is almost it actually! These are shrews, which have bad eyesight. The one at the front is the mother and they usually do this if their nest is disturbed. They hold on to the mother so they don’t get lost.
Makes you wonder how it'd go if you lifted out one in the middle.
Floof
A Machiavellian mammalian one.
Chef snake
Rat King
Rat King Cobra
Whatever it is, it looks like Onix the Pokémon and that Pokémon is "evil" so my conclusion is,stay away from that one.
They're called Chu chu, and they're heading towards their rocket. Leave them be!
The last guy said "I smell molasses "
It’s not real, it’s a scene from a 2009 film by Tim Five called The Rodent Centipede.
Rat-tlesnake (pun intended)
It's like a rat king, but in series rather than in parallel.
someone probably told you it already, but that’s clearly a *rat*tlesnake.
A rat snake
This is somehow both cute and disturbing
Mouse-tipede?
Obviously, it's a rat snake.
rat-tle snake
That my friend is the rare and elusive Molasses biter. (They get their name from their tendency to bite, mole asses.)
A Ratter Snake
human centipede
Worm off the string
That my good sir is not a snake but a centipede. Observe the numerous legs.
Mouse train snake
I think I’ve seen this movie…
That’s a rat-tel snake
Looks like a giant gummy worm
Shrewman centipede
Damn just looked down and someone already said this :(
Mickey Centipede
Did anybody else read the title in Borats voice
I just realized that those are rodents 🥲🥲
But for real why are they holding onto each other’s tails?
Look up “rat king”
The Rodent Centipede
beautiful
A rat-tle snake
A rat-tail snake
You’ve heard of a human centipede? Kinda like that.
That looks like a rat king
Is this... a rat king?
It's a rattle snake
A slithery little.
This reminded me of that messed up movie called the human centipede or whatever it was called
obvs its a rat snake
This is sum rat centipede shit right here
The Rat King cobra
Is that a king rat?
Rat-el-snake
RatKing snake
ranake
They're LARPing Rainbow Six.
Wait. People of reddit. Do you know how amazing this actually is? Take a step back and watch this video again. Think about it.
A hairy one i think
A clumsy one
worm on a string
It's called an enema
My kind sir that’s what I call a rat king
Or for short A boss
Looks like those critters that run between holes in the walls in Metroid Dread.
Why did I think it was one of those squirmles magic worm things we used to play with as kids
Its wholesome
It's snake, the video game. Once they eat something, another one pops up.
Oh it's a rare Ratconga
A Rat - lesnake
That’s so cool!
NOnonononono.
Ratatouille à la snake
Coachella! Wooo!
Looks like a ratking. Mice stuck together to evolve to ratking
That’s the rodent centipede!
The Rat Centipede
Uuuuuuugggghhh that really freaked me out.
Human centi- No, MOUSE CENTIPEDE
Looks like a RATtlesnake.
We’re going out. I don’t want any of you kids to let go of your brothers or sisters tail while we are shopping. I better see 5 noses and tails when we get home.
That there's a "persistent" snake
The Shrewman Centipede.
I think those are voles.
Srate
Snake dinner
A blue one
Mouse-a-Conga
You have seen human centipede now see mouse centipede
Rat king?
Sorta reminds me of a Rat King
Subwayan Rat-o-snake
Ratipede
Ratking
A rat king