The Karni Mata Temple in remote Deshnoke, Rajasthan is overrun by animals which scurry though its stone halls.The rats are seen as holy because legend says they are the reincarnated children of revered goddess Karni Mata.Rodents move freely within the temple and often eat from huge bowls of milk and grains, placed daily by devotees. An Indian temple is infested with more than 20,000 rats and visitors flock from far […]

Traditionally, you wouldn’t gift someone a rat — not someone you like, anyway. And even if a gift-wrapped rodent was in the cards, you’d likely shy away from the giant African pouched rat, which — as the name suggests — is rather large (think cat-sized). Tanzania-based NGO Apopo, however, thinks rats make excellent gifts. So much so that they’ve launched an adopt-a-rat program, which allows participants to sponsor the animal. […]