How Far of a Drop Can a Rat Survive? (What Studies Show

You’ve spotted a rat on your roof or upper floor and you’re wondering what would happen if it fell or jumped. Maybe you’re trying to figure out if rats could survive a fall from a certain height, or you’re just curious about their physical abilities. How far of a drop can a rat survive?

Rats can survive falls from heights of 50 feet or more. Their small size, low body weight, and ability to twist in mid-air to land on their feet gives them an advantage when falling. While they might be injured from very high falls, they can often survive drops that would be fatal to larger animals.

This doesn’t mean rats are invincible when it comes to falling, but they’re remarkably resilient. Their light weight and flexible bodies work in their favor when they take a tumble from high places.

Why Rats Can Survive High Falls

Small animals have a much better chance of surviving falls than large animals. This is because of something called terminal velocity, which is the maximum speed something reaches when falling through air.

A rat’s terminal velocity is much lower than a human’s because of its small size and low weight. This means a rat falls more slowly than a heavier animal, which reduces the impact force when it hits the ground.

Rats also have flexible skeletons and a relatively low bone density compared to their body size. This allows them to absorb impacts better than animals with heavier, denser bones.

Their long tail acts as a balance and stabilizer during a fall. While it doesn’t slow them down like a parachute, it does help them orient their body to land in the best position.

The Physics of Falling Rats

Terminal velocity is reached when air resistance equals the force of gravity pulling something down. For rats, this happens much faster and at a lower speed than for larger animals.

A rat reaches terminal velocity after falling about 20-30 feet. After that point, it’s not falling any faster no matter how much further it drops.

The impact force when hitting the ground depends on how fast you’re moving when you hit. Since rats fall more slowly, they hit with less force relative to their size.

Air resistance increases with surface area. A rat’s body has a lot of surface area compared to its weight, which means air resistance has a bigger effect on slowing its fall.

Real-World Examples of Rat Falls

Rats living in multi-story buildings regularly fall or jump from upper floors and survive. Studies of urban rats have found that they frequently survive falls from 3-4 story buildings (30-50 feet).

Rats on ships have been known to survive falls from rigging and high decks without serious injury.

Wildlife researchers have documented rats surviving falls from trees, cliffs, and other high places in their natural habitats.

While not every rat survives every fall, the survival rate for falls that would be fatal to larger animals is surprisingly high.

Factors That Affect Rat Fall Survival

The landing surface matters a lot. A rat falling onto soft soil, grass, or sand has a much better chance than one falling onto concrete or stone.

How the rat lands is important. Landing on their feet, which rats usually manage to do, is much safer than landing on their back or side.

The rat’s size and age make a difference. Young, small rats might survive better than large adult rats because they weigh less and have more flexible bones.

The rat’s health going into the fall matters too. A healthy, well-fed rat is more likely to survive than a sick or injured one.

Injuries Rats Can Get From Falls

Even when rats survive falls, they can get injured. Common injuries include broken legs, broken ribs, internal bleeding, and head injuries.

A rat might survive a fall initially but die later from internal injuries that weren’t obvious right away.

Some rats might be stunned or temporarily paralyzed after a fall, then recover after a few minutes or hours.

Broken bones in rats can heal if the injury isn’t too severe, though a rat in the wild with a broken leg has reduced survival chances because it can’t escape predators or find food easily.

How High Is Too High for a Rat?

There’s no exact cut-off height where falls suddenly become fatal. Instead, the chance of injury and death increases gradually with height.

Falls under 20 feet are usually survivable with little to no injury for most healthy adult rats.

Falls between 20-50 feet have a high survival rate but increased risk of injury.

Falls over 50 feet are still often survivable, but the injury risk increases significantly and some rats won’t survive the impact.

Falls over 100 feet push the limits of what rats can survive, though even at these heights, some rats might make it depending on all the factors mentioned above.

Why Rats Don’t Fear Heights

Rats are natural climbers and regularly travel at heights in trees, on building exteriors, and in roof spaces. Evolution has equipped them well for this lifestyle.

Their good survival rate from falls means there isn’t strong evolutionary pressure for rats to develop a fear of heights. They can take risks that would be fatal to other animals.

Rats do have some caution about heights, but it’s not the same as the fear larger animals experience. They’ll still climb and jump from high places when necessary.

This lack of height fear can work against rats when they’re trying to escape from predators or when they’re exploring unfamiliar territory and misjudge a jump.

Comparing Rats to Other Animals

Cats are famous for surviving high falls, but rats are actually better at it pound for pound. Cats have a higher terminal velocity and hit harder despite their ability to right themselves.

Squirrels are similar to rats in their fall survival abilities. Both are small, tree-dwelling rodents with good survival rates from high falls.

Mice can survive even higher falls relative to their size than rats because they’re even smaller and lighter.

Large animals like dogs, humans, or farm animals have much higher terminal velocities and much lower survival rates from high falls.

Rats Jumping vs Falling

When rats jump intentionally, they have even better control than during an accidental fall. They can plan their landing and angle their body for the best impact position.

Rats can jump down from heights of 10-15 feet without hesitation if they see a safe landing spot or are motivated by food or escape.

The difference between a controlled jump and an uncontrolled fall can affect injury risk. A surprised rat that falls unexpectedly might not orient itself as well as one that jumped on purpose.

Rats can also make impressive horizontal jumps. They can leap several feet across gaps, which sometimes involves dropping down as well.

What Happens During a Rat’s Fall

Almost immediately after starting to fall, a rat will twist its body to orient itself with its feet downward. This righting reflex is instinctive and happens very fast.

The rat will spread its legs out slightly, which increases air resistance and slows the fall a bit. It’s not enough to act like a parachute, but every little bit helps.

The tail extends for balance, helping the rat maintain its orientation during the fall.

As it approaches the ground, the rat prepares to absorb impact by flexing its legs, which act like springs to cushion the landing.

The Survival Advantage of Being Small

Small animals have less kinetic energy when they hit the ground because they weigh less and fall more slowly.

The impact force is distributed across a smaller body, but the structure of small animals is proportionally stronger than large animals for dealing with these forces.

Scaling laws in physics mean that as animals get smaller, their strength-to-weight ratio increases. This helps with surviving impacts.

Being small also means having shorter distances for blood to travel, which can help with surviving internal injuries that might kill larger animals.

Rats in High Places: Why They’re There

Many rats live in trees, attics, roof spaces, and upper floors of buildings. Being comfortable at heights is part of their natural behavior.

High places offer safety from ground-based predators and often have less competition for resources.

Roof rats (also called black rats) are particularly adapted to climbing and living at height. They’re even more skilled at this than Norway rats.

The ability to survive falls is an important adaptation that allows rats to exploit these high-altitude habitats without too much risk.

Can You Use This to Control Rats?

Some people wonder if they can use height to eliminate rats, but this isn’t an effective or humane control method.

Throwing or dropping rats from heights is inhumane and might not even work given their survival abilities.

It’s also illegal in many places to intentionally harm animals, even pest animals, in ways that cause suffering.

There are much more effective and humane ways to control rat populations that don’t involve trying to injure them through falls.

When Rats Do Die From Falls

Very high falls (over 100 feet) increase the death rate significantly, though even these aren’t always fatal.

Falls onto hard surfaces like concrete or stone are more likely to be fatal than falls onto soft surfaces.

If a rat lands badly, hits something on the way down, or is in poor health, the chances of death increase at any height.

Multiple falls in a short time can be cumulative. A rat that survives one fall might be injured enough that a second fall kills it.

The Recovery Process for Injured Rats

If a rat is stunned by a fall, it might lie still for several minutes before recovering and running off.

Rats that break bones can sometimes heal if the break isn’t too severe and the rat can still move around enough to find food and water.

Internal injuries might not be obvious but can be fatal days after the fall. A rat might seem fine initially then die from internal bleeding.

In the wild, an injured rat has reduced chances of long-term survival even if it survives the immediate fall, because injuries make it vulnerable to predators and make it harder to compete for food.

Research on Rat Falls

Scientific studies on falling rats have documented their remarkable survival abilities, though ethical restrictions limit what researchers can study.

Military and aerospace research has sometimes included studies on impact survival in small mammals, which has provided data on rat fall survival.

Observations of urban rats by pest control professionals and researchers have documented many instances of rats surviving falls from buildings.

The physics of small animal falls is well-understood, which allows scientists to predict survival outcomes based on size, weight, and height.

What This Means for Rat Control

You can’t rely on height as a barrier to keep rats out of upper floors or elevated areas. If they want to get somewhere high, they’ll climb, and if they fall, they’ll probably survive.

Rats in attics and roofs aren’t trapped there. They can get down safely even from several stories up, so don’t assume a rat on your roof is stuck.

If you’re relocating a captured rat, you need to take it far enough away that it won’t come back, not just drop it somewhere and hope it doesn’t survive.

The best rat control focuses on prevention, trapping, and exclusion rather than trying to use their environment against them.

Other Impressive Rat Physical Abilities

Besides surviving falls, rats can squeeze through openings the size of a quarter because their skull can compress.

They can tread water for three days and swim for half a mile, making them excellent swimmers.

Rats can chew through many materials including wood, plastic, and soft metals like aluminum.

They can run up vertical walls if there’s enough texture for their claws to grip.

These abilities combined make rats one of the most adaptable and hard-to-control pest animals.

The Role of Landing Surface

Grass, soft soil, or sand provide cushioning that significantly increases survival chances. The surface gives way on impact, absorbing some of the force.

Water can be even better as a landing surface if the fall isn’t from too high. The water spreads out the impact force over time.

Hard surfaces like concrete, stone, or packed earth don’t give way at all, meaning the rat absorbs all the impact force. This is the most dangerous landing.

Uneven surfaces with objects to hit on landing (like rocks, branches, or debris) are dangerous because they create additional injury points.

How Age Affects Fall Survival

Young rats are more flexible and have softer, less brittle bones. This gives them a slight advantage in surviving falls.

Very young rats (babies) are so light that they can survive even higher falls relative to their size, though they’re less able to orient themselves properly.

Older rats might have arthritis or other health issues that make them more fragile and less able to recover from injuries.

Adult rats in their prime typically have the best combination of size, strength, and agility for surviving falls with minimal injury.

Conclusion

Rats can survive falls from 50 feet or more thanks to their small size, low body weight, and ability to land on their feet. Their low terminal velocity means they fall more slowly than larger animals, and the impact force when they hit the ground is proportionally lower.

While very high falls (over 100 feet) or falls onto hard surfaces can kill rats, their survival rate from heights that would be fatal to humans or other larger animals is surprisingly high. The landing surface, the rat’s health, and how it lands all play roles in determining whether it survives.

Understanding rat fall survival is interesting from a physics and biology perspective, but it also reinforces an important point for pest control: height alone won’t keep rats away or eliminate them.

They’re adapted to living and moving in high places, and if they fall, they’ll probably survive and try again.