Rats with killer hair are secretly social | Science News

The unusual crested rats of East Africa are not the feisty loners that scientist expected. The rats are best known for chewing up bark or other parts of a poisonous tree and dribbling the toxic saliva onto their fur. Any would-be predator foolish enough to take a bite gets a potentially deadly mouthful of detachable fluff that can induce a heart attack. But the rats with these dangerous hairdos have a snuggly domestic side. Cameras reveal they stick close to a mate and snuggle up to sleep in a mutual cloud