Acrob-rat-ics! Horrified woman captures the moment a huge rodent uses her clothing line as a tight-rope to reach bird feeder
- Melisa Paterson, 26, from Norfolk, spotted rat scaling her washing line in garden
- She had moved bird feeders after seeing rodent scale a pole for the animals
- Captured impressive acrobatic creature hanging from line as it reached for food
A horrified woman has captured the moment a rat clambered up her clothing line and used the wire as a tight-rope in order to reach her bird feeder.
Melissa Paterson, 26, from Norfolk, spotted the acrobatic animal in her garden earlier this month, and decided to move the feeders after the hungry creature scaled a pole to nab some food.
However the move did little to stop the animal and in a clip shared with the BBC, it could be seen climbing up a bird feeder pole before tight-rope walking across the clothing line and leaning down to swipe a snack.
Melissa Paterson, 26, from Norfolk, revealed the moment a rat clambered up her clothing line and used the wire as a tight-rope in order to reach her bird feeders
In a clip shared with the BBC , the animal could be seen climbing up a bird feeder pole before tight-rope walking across the clothing line and leaning down to swipe the feed
The animal could be seen crawling up the bird feeder pole before encountering an empty bird feeder.
Instead of giving up, the creature moved across the wire and used its body to balance across the clothing line.
The rat used its paws to shimmy itself along the thin wire, while curling its tail around the line to give it some extra balance.
At one stage, the rodent flipped upside down, but managed to cling onto the line and showcased remarkable strength in pulling itself back up to the wire.
The rodent could be seen quickly climbing up a pole in Melissa’s back garden, and stopped briefly at an empty bird feeder before moving on to the clothing line
The acrobatic rat then crawled across the yellow wire using its paws and tail to balance (pictured)
Speaking to the BBC, Melissa said she had ‘never seen a rat scale a washing like’ as though it was ‘walking a tightrope’ before.
And it’s far from the first time an acrobatic rat’s antics have been caught on camera.
Last year, a prowling cat got more than it bargained for when it confronted a vicious leaping rodent in the street.
The footage, filmed in June 2020, captured an unsuspecting black cat as it attempted to grab a huge rat in its mouth in Málaga, Spain.
But seconds later, the feline startles backwards when the rodent jumps towards it in an attempt to scare the predator away.
Last year, a prowling cat got more than it bargained for when it confronted a vicious leaping rodent in the street in Spain
It then jumps twice more, much to the surprise of the cat, before making away down the road with the feline in hot pursuit.
The cameraman described the video as an ‘epic battle’, adding he and friends had been alerted to the drama ‘when suddenly I heard strange sounds behind me.’
‘We looked out and just saw an epic battle with a rat who was flying kicks against a cat, the rest you can see in the video,’ he added.
The clip, which was posted to YouTube, has been viewed more than 13,870 times, with several commenters applauding the efforts of the rat.
One user said: ‘The rat reminds me of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.’
Another added: ‘Y’all know once the cat was done playing with the rat it was lunch.’
‘This rat deserved to live…’ said a third.