Long before Pizza Rat crawled its way into New York City's heart, we had Pigeon Rat.
A video of an epic Pigeon vs. Rat showdown, which was originally posted to YouTube in August 2014, resurfaced on the Internet this week, perhaps in the flurry of rodent-related news inspired by Pizza Rat.
The nearly three-minute clip offers a front-row seat to a battle royale between a pigeon and a rat, which features all the trappings of a good fight: We have violence (viewers can spot some bloodshed on the wounded pigeon's wing), drama (at one point the pigeon plots its escape and breaks free but, alas, it is no match for Pigeon Rat), and a victor (the rat finally subdues his prey and retreats with it behind a fence).
The recirculating video sparked some divided reactions online. Some cheered the rat, others mourned the pigeon's death, while still others criticized the people recording the video for not stepping in.
"It's like watching the Republican primary, you can't root for anyone, you just watch with horror and disgust. Or to paraphrase Oscar Wilde, its the unspeakable in full pursuit of the uneatable,"
one commenter on Gawker wrote.
"Wonder if people will stand there laughing when whoever filmed this dies too," a YouTuber chimed in.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.