As researched by the university of michigan animal diversity web roof rats in the wild live up to is about 12 months.
Life expectancy of roof rats.
Rarely do rats live for more than a year in the wild.
Common causes of death for a rat include vehicles domestic cats and some dogs winged animals such as hawks or owls coyotes foxes weasels and snakes.
Sexual maturity is attained within 5 weeks and they start mating to produce a new generation of rats.
Roof rats are prolific breeders and multiply at a frighteningly fast rate.
However many rats die after the first year due to predation and interspecies conflict.
The rat lifespan may be shortened by predation.
However there are reports of black rats living up to 4 years under captivity.
Just one adult female can create more than 40 new rats in a year.
The maximum life a rat can have is three years yet the majority of the rats found in populated areas live for maximum one year due to inter species conflict and predation.
Building tenants and owners should act quickly at the first sign of rat infestation.
The rodents reach sexual maturity in about five weeks and begin mating soon after to produce the next generation to start the rat life cycle over again.
The average rat in the wild will live for around one year with female rats often outliving the males.