I need a zoologist (Read 746 times)

Two nights ago, I woke up in the middle of the night by a noise in the living room. It sounded like someone was crinkling an empty potato chip bag. The first thing that came to mind was a mouse was going through my trash. I flipped on the light and ran into the living room fulling expecting a critter would scamper about but nothing was there. I stared at the trash can thinking that the mouse went deep into it to hide from me. I didn't see any mouse droppings either. Why do they poop so much? I looked around the room but didn't see anything and then I heard the noise again. It was coming from one corner of the room. I followed the sound to my water belt and saw a gray figure roaming in the pile. I got to about a foot in front of it and then I was stuck. I was half amused that the mouse wasn't bothered by my presence, and have no idea how I would catch it. I mean, I'm not touching it with my bare hands. It could have cooties. The next thing I knew, it ran into the closet. I caught a glimpse of it and thought it was a rather fat mouse. It had a wider girth and longer body. There was a crack in the closet and I was dismayed. I got a rodent problem on my hands. I took out my live trap and placed it right in front of the crack such that the only way for it to come out is through the trap. With nothing to do, I went to turn off the light and go back to bed. Literally the second I turned off the light, the trap clicked. That bugger came back out before I left the room. I checked it out and it looked like a mouse from afar, but when I examined it, it was not a mouse. It had a sharp nose and tiny eyes. The eyes were the size of a pin prick. I left it in the trap and went back to bed. The next morning, I went to fetch the trap and it was dead. I have no idea why it died because it was fine when I left it the next before. I got a good look at it and it was definitely not a mouse. Its tail was short, about 1.5 inches long, while its body was a little doner 4 inches. As I drove to work, a list of names came up. It could be a mole, a vole, or a shrew. With a little Googling, here's what I found: Southern Short-tailed Shrew. According to another article I found, the shrew needs to eat constantly. They eat about 80-90% of their body weight every day. How they don't get fat is beyond me. So that poor thing could have starved to death during those 7 hours when I was sleeping. I need a zoologist to tell me if I killed that thing. Anyone?

Ewww!

Crickey is right, mate! There's no telling just how close you came to this... ...although this strikes me as a possible solution to the problem someone posted a while back about a cold...er, uhm, "digit"... Lynn B

"In the English language, the word shrew is also used to describe a woman with a violent, scolding, or nagging temperament." Sounds like my Mother. In which case I would prefer it that you didn't feed her. Thanks. Claire xxx

I got a good look at it and it was definitely not a mouse. Its tail was short, about 1.5 inches long, while its body was a little doner 4 inches.

And thereby hangs a tale. The Taming of the Shrew, 4. 1

Hey Eric, I saw on your log that you are still having trouble. Is that a problem that flared during your race in Florida (or races to be accurate)? Anyhow, healing vibes coming at you and I hope that you are back pounding the streets in the near future. Rest up and get well. Claire xxx

Howdy Claire, Thanks for the vibes. At the moment, I'm feeling a little bit of pain in my rear end, but I know that has nothing to do with you Interestingly enough, the pain never bothered me much when I was there. Weeks before those races, the pain was near crippling even on a 10 mile run. My physical therapist suspects it has something to do with the cold temperature (it was quite warm in Florida). For now, they strongly urge that I don't run so I've been sorta cross training. I'm bored to tears most of the time and my only motivation is the exhilaration of running down the streets on a warm spring day. Right now, spring is very far away.

The crap you can find on Google:

The common shrew is, for its size, the most dangerous mammal in Britain. Ruthless in its frantic hunt for John Connor and weighing just half an ounce, the shrew of 2029 goes without food for more than two thousand years. Now, it lives in the hedgerows and is a potential schizophrenic. Tormented by the imminent threat of intensive farming, it wilI send a cyborg assassin back through the countryside, to terminate humanity's future saviour with a nuclear holocaust from which aggressive science-fiction worms will emerge triumphant over the remnants of the human race

You might want to make sure its really dead. They seem like some awfully dangerous critters.