Saturday, December 6, 2014

Fasten Your Seat Belts

Have I told you I love woodrats?

Or should I say, "have I told you lately I love woodrats?"

Because if I haven't, it must be time once again for an episode of Woodrat Theater...

In the Santa Cruz Mountains, in the deep woods, is an electric-blue VW Beetle.

a bug in the woods
"Beetle Down!"

And inside, built in-and-around the seats, is a stick nest.

Of the San Francisco dusky-footed woodrat variety, Neotoma fuscipes annectens.

So I dropped a cam trap down into the scene. And a sprinkle of pine nuts.

cam trap set
Camera trap on right, woodrat stick house to left in and under the seats

The woodrat stick house is not original equipment, of course. Pure after-market. Although I know more than a few people have wondered, often with expletives, if VW bugs are powered by mice or rats running on exercise wheels.

The current owner of the blue beetle peeked out at 4am.

dusky-footed woodrat

By size and sleekness, perhaps a young female.

But a short while later the local fox patrol stopped by, and stole a few pine nuts.

gray fox

gray fox

gray fox

gray fox

However, as you can plainly see, ole sly fox missed some (honk, honk).

But our v-dub lovin' woodie didn't. She knows her haunts.

dusky-footed woodrat

dusky-footed woodrat

dusky-footed woodrat

dusky-footed woodrat

dusky-footed woodrat

Note the sexy scar on the side of her face.

She even came back to "ask" the camera for more…

dusky-footed woodrat

dusky-footed woodrat

dusky-footed woodrat

Such a look.

And one, you'll note, that is pretty distinctive. Woodrats, unlike their icky Euro-trash Rattus rat remote relatives, live much more cleanly, and thus look more like escaped pets than gross pests.

dusky-footed woodrat

"Ma'am - do you know how fast you were driving?"

"Sure officer - I was going woodrat."

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9 comments:

  1. also a big fan -- though I mainly encounter "rockrats"

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  2. I'm impressed at how agile she is. Gives one an idea of the places a woodrat can get into.

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  3. What an excellent and fun set of images.

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  4. I love the first photo of the "laughing fox", and those Woodrat acrobatics are a treat as well :)

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  5. Brilliant camera location. Can't handle the cuteness.

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  6. Maybe the rat itself crashed the VW and is waiting to be found??? YOU FOUND HIM!

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  7. Charm unlimited! The cuteness factor is OFF THE CHARTS.

    p.s. Is that a horn of plenty?

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  8. 2nd to last picture is epic.

    Great set.

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