WARNING: If the sight of certain rodents upsets you - go no further.
I have encountered a rather unusual and totally unexpected wildlife experience this mid-winter.
An old hollow tree near the canal proves to be home to a family of brown rats. There is at least one large one and three smaller. Like pretty much everyone else I have seen this species before but usually only out of the corner of my eye and often at dusk, as one moves swiftly to hide. However, in this case - with little effort - I have been able to view them without them startling.
These are wild rats - not tame one - living in a rural situation - the open countryside and farmland in one direction the town in the other and, in between, the old canal from which they regularly drink.
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| Is the coast clear? |
Our reaction to rats is typically rather visceral. For some it is a phobia but for most we see them as unwelcome vermin, stored food despoilers and disease-bringers. Those who keep them as pet know them to be sociable and intelligent. In fact., whilst rats no longer threaten us with plague (and that was a different species), in the UK they do carry leptospirosis (or Weil's disease) which affects humans and dogs and if not treated can be fatal. (Curiously, my local paper carries a warning this week to look out for this disease in dogs following a local outbreak.) And despite our relatively rare sightings of them (and their unpopularity), they are very common - their population in this part of the world is probably only second to that of humans.
What has stuck me about them is their agility (they clamber easily all over the old tree), their swift and silent disappearance when disturbed and their peaceful behavior towards each other. Unless anyone objects strongly more news about rats will follow.
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| One of the smaller ones peering out from one of several burrow entrances among the roots of the old hollow tree. |
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| The biggest one ventures out |
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