If you’ve walked along the paved paths weaving around Madeline Court recently and noticed an occasional frantic rustling, shaking of the hedges, or the dry leaves below them, you wouldn’t be the first. Initially, it’s easy to attribute these abrupt movements to a sudden gust of wind or even a bird searching for a stray Commons fry. However, to many in the Westridge community, it’s a reminder of a seemingly ever-growing population on campus; the mischief of rats busy making themselves comfortable among the campus’s abundant greenery. 

Occasionally, a series of loud squeals and yells erupt as students spot a rat dashing between bushes as they make their way to lunch. “We just saw one! I’m pretty sure it has a home in that middle bush,” said fifth grader Ally L.

Alina Z. ’33 added, “We keep on seeing [the rats]. After school, we saw a pinkish tail go through the bushes,” she said.

Other lower schoolers recounted sightings in the playground area on campus, specifically around the zipline that runs parallel to the Madeline Drive cul-de-sac. Fourth grader Ari G.’s first rat sighting took place this past month during recess; “We were building a fort, and then we saw a rat run out [from around a tree near the zipline] and run back under…it was really fat,” she said.

While many have noticed rats or heard stories from their peers, students and staff alike are not unanimous in their feelings about the rodents. Few are extremely bothered by their presence; a minority are even fond of them. “They’re so cute… I get happy every time I see one,” said senior Lily N. Hers is a sentiment echoed by a handful of others. Upper School History Teacher Mr. Bill Harrison agreed, “The campus rats are so big, I love them, I admire them,” he said. 

Micaela R. ’26, however, is wary of the rodents. “I’m a little scared… they stay on the back of my mind,” she said.

The noticeable increase in rat sightings within the past semester can be attributed to multiple factors. The consistently warm weather, an effect of global warming, is causing rats to reproduce and multiply faster than ever in places with established rat populations. 

Additionally, the recent 2025 fires, impacting Altadena and the Palisades, have forced rats, along with other wildlife, to relocate, condensing and urbanizing their population. Westridge, on the outskirts of the Altadena area, is likely experiencing the effects of this.  

While these larger environmental concerns are beyond Westridge’s immediate control, the school is taking steps to mitigate their presence and encounters with the humans who share this campus. In response, facilities has set up more traps to quell their numbers. 

These rodent traps dot the campus, often tucked among foliage. Additionally, there are changes students can implement to reduce how often rats appear throughout the school day. 

Rats are often tempted out of hiding by food, specifically foods with high sugar content. Properly disposing of food and returning reusable dishes to their bus bins will reduce the chances that rats will be out in the open. 

Even though students typically don’t like sharing campus with these rodents, the kill trap solution seems “unethical” and inhumane to many students.

“….That’s a horrible way to die,” said Zepherine L. ’27. She also feels like Westridge has more pressing issues to focus on,providing the smell as an example.

Lily N. said, “If [they were] no-kill rat traps, I would be okay with that. I feel like having dead rats around campus is worse than live ones.” 

“Keep them alive! Spend your time on some other more important issue on campus than a rat,” said Caroline M. ’26 

Upper School Service Learning Coordinator, Ms. Erica St. John said, “I feel like our efforts would be better spent trying to not leave food around where rats can get it.”

While there has been an undeniable uptick in rats (with multiple students claiming that, on average, they encounter rats

around twice a month, often during the school day), the rats are not new to campus. Facilities staff member, Mr. Maurilio Guevara, who has worked at Westridge for over 20 years, said that the rat traps were around campus before he started. 

Additionally, students recount various sightings from years prior, often from after their respective sports or theater commitments that lead into the evening. Rats are nocturnal, typically only venturing out of their homes at night; however, in this year in particular, the Westridge rats are peculiarly bold, dashing across walkways during the busiest and loudest moments on campus. 

A group of seventh graders recalled when they were in fourth grade, spotting at least three rats surrounding and eating a dead bird by the zipline during the school day. The moment sparked chaos throughout their grade at the time, and are, to this day, still disgusted as they retell the grotesque, though understandably memorable, details. 

A handful of students have also seen dead rats around campus, or even in carline when leaving school.

Josephine S. ’27, who spotted a rat on her way to lunch this month, said. “I’m not the biggest fan of the rats on campus, but I guess they’re wildlife…It’s like an immersive subway experience.”