August 28,

1964

(cont.)

traps when checked.

The roof rats were very large and strong.

Their general condition was very good.

Of the 8 sexually mature

females,
2 were pregnant

(both had early pregnancies)

3 had been pregnant previously.
Ten of the 12 males caught were sexually mature.

One of the

sexually immature males caught was large enough to be sexually
mature.

This phenomenen, which had been observed in several of

the population,

could be the result of intense population pres-

sure,
Roof rats seem generally distributed over the island in considerable numbers.

Why reproduction is occurring here and not

on some of the other reasonably comparable sites is not clear.
Norway rats were not found,
to be here.
bution

though they might be expected

Their colonial habits might have produced a distri-

pattern which would have been missed by the sampling pro-

cedure used.

Select target paragraph3