Pack Rats come in all shapes and sizes
This is a short exert of what I found in Wikipedia today when I wanted to learn more about pack rats. They a are described as little rodents, with long and sometimes bushy tails … smaller than a typical rat.
“In houses, pack rats are active nocturnally, searching for food and nest material. A peculiar characteristic is that if they find something they want, they will drop what they are currently carrying, for example a piece of cactus, and “trade” it for the new item. They are particularly fond of shiny objects, leading to tales of rats swapping jewelry for a stone. They can also be quite vocal and boisterous, sounding at times as if a “family rift” is taking place.”
We are living with a little pack rat at our house … she trades remotes for partially eaten crackers, blocks for mail, and scraps of torn magazines for pens and combs. You will note, however, Ande is much cuter than a little rodent. Her sister, who is 8, was given the mission of finding the remote today … with the incentive of a reward. We now know she “stashes” in the shoe box … until she discovers her loot is missing and changes hiding places.
