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Rats: if you can’t beat them eat them! (Tricks of the trade observed among the Adi and other North-East Indian tribals)

Overview of attention for article published in Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine, May 2015
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  • Good Attention Score compared to outputs of the same age (71st percentile)
  • Good Attention Score compared to outputs of the same age and source (71st percentile)

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Title
Rats: if you can’t beat them eat them! (Tricks of the trade observed among the Adi and other North-East Indian tribals)
Published in
Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine, May 2015
DOI 10.1186/s13002-015-0034-2
Pubmed ID
Authors

Victor Benno Meyer-Rochow, Karsing Megu, Jharna Chakravorty

Abstract

Since outside the tribal areas of North-East India it is not widely known, neither in the world nor in India itself, that rats are considered a delicious food item, this was one of several reasons why we decided to present this ethnographic account of rat procurement and preparation (together with some additional comments on the cultural role that rats have especially amongst members of the Adi tribe). Consumption of rats by humans as a biological control method far superior to the use of rodenticide poisoning and rat consumption as a way to reduce hunting pressure on rare wild animals were further considerations to publish this account. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with male and female members of eight tribal communities in Arunachal Pradesh (North-East India) on the uses of rats as food and as cultural objects. The construction of rat traps as well as the preparation of rat dishes were observed and recorded photographically. Numerous species of small rodents, collectively called "rats" by the locals of North-East Indian tribes and comprising the species Rattus rattus Linnaeus, R. nitidus Hodgson, R. burrus Miller, R. tanezumi Temminck as well as Bandicota bengalensis Gray and Hardwicke, B. indica Bechstein, and Mus musculus Linnaeus, are regularly trapped and consumed in roasted, cooked or smoked form. In this well-illustrated report the kinds of devices used to catch these animals are described and information is provided on how to prepare rats for human consumption. The role that rats as food and gift-exchange items play in the context of local culture is explained and the locals' most highly appreciated meat dish, known as bule-bulak oying and consisting of boiled rat's tail, legs and inner organs, is introduced. Given the need to meet the world's future food demands and the environmental consequences of an expanding livestock production with regard to global warming, water availability, deforestation, soil erosion etc., rats as a food item, as our example shows, should not be overlooked. Using rats as food reduces hunting pressures on other wild and often already rare animals. It is a far superior method to control rat populations than poisoning the rodents and the artisanal construction of rat traps by local menfolk helps maintaining traditional skills and knowledge.

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X Demographics

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Mendeley readers

Mendeley readers

The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 55 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.

Geographical breakdown

Country Count As %
Unknown 55 100%

Demographic breakdown

Readers by professional status Count As %
Researcher 13 24%
Student > Ph. D. Student 6 11%
Student > Master 6 11%
Student > Bachelor 4 7%
Student > Postgraduate 4 7%
Other 9 16%
Unknown 13 24%
Readers by discipline Count As %
Agricultural and Biological Sciences 17 31%
Environmental Science 6 11%
Social Sciences 6 11%
Arts and Humanities 2 4%
Computer Science 1 2%
Other 9 16%
Unknown 14 25%
Attention Score in Context

Attention Score in Context

This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 5. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 06 February 2023.
All research outputs
#6,448,569
of 23,299,593 outputs
Outputs from Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine
#236
of 744 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#75,364
of 268,188 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine
#6
of 21 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 23,299,593 research outputs across all sources so far. This one has received more attention than most of these and is in the 72nd percentile.
So far Altmetric has tracked 744 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a little more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 5.7. This one has gotten more attention than average, scoring higher than 67% of its peers.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 268,188 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one has gotten more attention than average, scoring higher than 71% of its contemporaries.
We're also able to compare this research output to 21 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one has gotten more attention than average, scoring higher than 71% of its contemporaries.