Times Metro Desk Exits Year of the Rat

You may have noticed there have been a lot of stories about rats in the Times Metro report recently.

There was a story on Nov. 10 about all the rats in City Hall Park; there's a story on Dec. 21 about cats that protect us from rats in delis; there's a story on Dec. 29 about rats who take shelter from the cold inside people's cars; there's a year-in-New York story on Dec. 31, which revisits those camera-happy rats at that Taco Bell in the Village.

There's also a multi-part Q&A at the City Room with the city's "Urban Rodentologist," which invited people to write in and ask about rats. That took place on Nov. 27, Nov. 28, Nov. 29 and Nov. 30.

There haven't yet been any rat-related stories in 2008.