Outwit ... outplay ... outlast

(You know we adore mice; we share our lives with a number of them, and we find them to be adorable and personable, and endlessly entertaining. But ours are tame mice, of course. In the wild, things are different.

I wrote a rather whimsical verse awhile ago. I never expected to discover that there might be actual truth to it:

The mice run swift beneath the moon and none of us is safe.

Observe them now as they converge upon a hapless waif.

Their glaring eyes, their fearsome teeth; she doesn't stand a chance -

The fevered orb shines brightly down upon their vict'ry dance.

No longer do they crouch and hide within the shadows deep

but boldly fare they forth in hordes to hunt us as we sleep.

No longer timid, shy, and meek, they've overcome their fear

and we've become their chosen prey. Beware! for they lurk near.

 Peace.

All content copyright Malcolm Mott 2005)

WARNING! IF YOU ARE AT ALL SQUEAMISH AND HATE READING ABOUT ANIMALS EATING ANIMALS, YOU MAY NOT WANT TO CLICK ON THE LINK.

That said, here is a spoiler alert:

After Survivor:Guatemala, the next season will send the contestants to this little-known island.

In brief, for those who will not wish to read the entire article, herewith a short and sanitized version:

There exists in the South Atlantic, 1000 miles SW of Capetown, South Africa, a small, little-known island called Gough Island. It is home to a population of approximately 10,000,000 seabirds, some species of which are bordering on extinction.

It is also home to 700,000 mice - but these are not common mus musculus - far from it. Evolution has been at work on this remote island, producing mice that are 3x the size of normal mice, and individuals weigh roughly 35 grams.

The trouble is, there is not much in the way of food on Gough Island - except for those seabirds. The "monster mice" have become carnivorous. The rest you can imagine.

That was the serious bit. Now - wouldn't it be fun to watch the contestants fighting off giant carnivorous mice?

Peace.