Why do rats climb trees?

Question

A fearless rat sat in my tall flowering shrub looking at me through the window of my conservatory. It stayed there about half an hour in the rain until it fell.

Answer 1

Rats climb trees in pursuit of fruit and other foods.

Answer 2

Rattus rattus, aka black rat, tree rat, roof rat, ship rat, often lives in trees and makes nests there.  They feed on nuts, seeds, and fruits they find there, as well as anything else they can find.  They are much better climbers than the common brown rat (Rattus Norwegicus).  The brown rat is a bit bigger and more aggressive, so where the two species are present, the black rat takes the higher ground (trees and attics) while the brown rats take the lower regions.  

To the casual observer they look much alike.  The most obvious difference, if you can see it, is that the black rat has a black tail, and the brown rat has the freckled tail.  The black rat's tail is considerably longer, hence the greater skill at climbing.

Brown rats are pretty good climbers too, so it's not impossible that you saw a brown rat, but generally they don't favor trees.  If it was raining hard, the rat may have been displaced from its usual shelter.

Answer 3

sounds like an interesting story.

Answer 4

and it's said that rats are intelligent.....

Answer 5

There's not much on the TV today is there!

Answer 6

To see whats up there, rather like the chicken crossing the road.