Honor Among Rats, if not Thieves

Well they are talking about Empathy, but that wouldn't be as snappy a title.  I was surprised that Rats display this behavior for, I assume, non related Rats.  I would have expected them to be Psychopathic or Sociopathic by human terms.

This snippet from ars:

Now, new research in Science suggests that rats are capable of empathy. The study tested how rats responded when their fellow rats were trapped, and found that they would not only spend time and energy deliberately helping their trapped companions, but they would even share food after liberating them.

Sources:

• Primary:  http://www.sciencemag.org/content/334/6061/1427
• Story source above:  http://arstechnica.com/science/news/2011/12/rats-show-empathy-will-come-to-the-aid-of-other-rats.ars