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Many rats were seen fleeing from a homeless man who was sleeping in a corner at a New York City subway station in a video that went viral and was shared on TikTok on January 8 by user @six4bk78. About a dozen or so rodents scurried off of the person's blanket as people approached them.
The civilians were left horrified as the pack of rats escaped towards the tracks. Netizens have pointed out the lack of actions taken against the rise of the rodent population in New York City and its subways, as per NPR.
They also raised concern for the homeless people in the country and their living conditions. The video has received nearly seven million views in the first 24 hours, as per The New York Post.
Rats emerge from under homeless man's blanket on NYC subway platform
New York City has a large population of rodents that are found in many densely populated areas. There were 90,578 homeless people, including 32,689 homeless children, sleeping in New York City's main municipal shelter system in October 2023, as per Coalition for the Homeless. The homeless situation in the city has become dire.
On Monday, many were waiting for their subway in New York City. The curious civilian and TikTok user @six4bk78 started recording a video and decided to check up on a homeless man sleeping on the platform, as per MSN. A few people were heard laughing as two or three rats were spotted around the sleeping figure.
However, things took a disturbing turn, when the clip showed the homeless human shifting his body and raising his blanket. At least 20 rats ran out of the person's blanket and made their way to the subway tracks. The TikToker did not specify the subway platform he was on where he spotted the pack of rats.
Netizens were horrified as some questioned whether some medical assistance was provided to the homeless person.
Some of the reactions are given below:
According to a Homeless Outreach Population Estimate survey, done by The Science Survey, around 3,400 individuals lived in more than 90 subway stations in 2021. The most recent survey, as reported by New York Post showed 4,042 individuals sleeping on streets or subways in the Big Apple last year.
According to NPR, rodents are a big New York issue and Mayor Eric Adams even offered a job for what he termed as the Big Apple's 'Rat Czar' in April 2022. NYC Subway Rat Detector concluded that subway platforms on 3 Av-149 St, 103 St, and Parsons Blvd had the highest percentage of rat spotting.
It is unclear why the rats chose to sleep so close to the homeless man, however, it has been proven that they do enjoy cuddling with humans that are or aren't their owners, as per RSPCA. Cuddling indicates that a rat is happy and comfortable with the person around them.
Some citizens believe that the homeless person and the blanket in the video seemingly provided comfortable surroundings for the small creatures, as per The New York Post.
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