Early 2000s about 2am. Making a U-turn in an empty parking lot at fisherman's wharf in San Francisco. I see hundreds if not sever thousands rats in front of one of those wooden warehouses by the submarine and Liberty ship. During the day there are open markets and "fresh" seafood. I saw first hand what I'd heard about NYC rats. Invisible during the day.
Oh yeah, we camped on the beach at a nearby beach and the wharf rats scurrying around scared the crap out of us in our sleeping bags. Circa 1970 or so...
Even Brookings had wharf rats.