Posted on 01/10/2024 6:59:32 PM PST by Red Badger
Jan. 8 (UPI) -- A wildlife photographer in Wales set up a camera in his tool shed to find out why objects were moving around and discovered a "tidy mouse" was cleaning up for him.
Rodney Holbrook, 75, of Builth Wells, said the mystery began with some bird food he stored in the shed ending up in an old pair of shoes.
Holbrook set up a camera in his shed and ended up recording footage of a mouse making nightly visits to round up small items that had been left out and place them into a small tray on the shelf.
"It happens every night without fail," Holbrook told The Washington Post.
He said the rodent, which he dubbed "Welsh Tidy Mouse," usually works alone, but will occasionally be accompanied by one or two other mice.
He said the mouse and its cohorts are apparently placing his left-out items including nails, cable ties and small tools into the tray to hide nuts.
"I don't bother to tidy up now, I leave things out of the box and they put it back in its place by the morning," Holbrook told the BBC.
Gareth Davies, founder of Wales-based Pest and Property Solutions, said mice are "miniature hoarders."
"Mice are very inquisitive creatures, and they are hoarders. They love hoarding food and everything else. It's in their nature; they are completely different to rats," Davies said.
Another mouse went viral in 2019 for similarly tidying up a man's shed in Bristol, England. Holbrook said he was familiar with the previous video, which went viral, as he had helped the homeowner repair a wildlife camera.
"That one video went viral and reached people around the world," he said. "So I can't believe here in Builth Wells we have had the same thing happen years later."
Why would anyone call this a “mystery”? So stupid. Cute maybe, but really stupid “news”.
We have the Tidy Bowl Man and pack rats. Now we have Tidy Mouse not to be confused with Mighty Mouse.
We have the Tidy Bowl Man and pack rats. Now we have Tidy Mouse not to be confused with Mighty Mouse.
Not news, a human interest story. Much more enjoyable than your run of the mill Spouse murder or gang shooting.
In northern Europe farmers had a belief in gnomes or brownies or little people that would come at night and clean things up. They would leave a bowl of cream out for them to repay them. Glad to think that my ancestors were not just superstitious, there might have been something behind it, but odd to think it might have been mice!
He can have every single packrat on my property. The destruction and wasted feed they can cause is incredible.
Sounds like the basis for a charming little children’s book. The illustrations would be adorable.
Who knows? One House-Mouse may have trained her own mice-lings to keep the night time clean up going.
This habit or some might say, compulsion of routine could have been going on for several House-Mouse generations, until one day, new owners move in, the wife sees a MOUSE jumping off her new washing machine, freaks out and immediately calls
The Terminator, signalling The End of the House-Mouse legacy!
..at least for now.
Sounds like a business opportunity for you!..............
A real Sherlock Holmes he is figuring out a rodent is moving seed and storing it.
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It’s a genetic thing. People, like mice, are inherently tidy or messing.
Breed tidy mice and you can keep them as pets.
Let them sleep at day, release them at night.
That mouse works harder than some people do.
Like starting up the J Deere 5103 and corn comes out of the exhaust…and the nearest source of corn is 200 yrds away.
Cute is nice sometimes in the midst of the evil we’re regularly immersed in. I enjoyed the story.
I will trade that mouse for the pack rat that destroyed thousands of dollars of electronic equipment, destroyed walls, crapped and pissed on everything.
Why would anyone call this a “mystery”? So stupid. Cute maybe, but really stupid “news”.
Take a chill pill. As someone said it’s a break of all the bad news nowadays. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ll go back and watch it again...;)
Mouse acting white. :) Dincha go to college?
I’m not calling out anyone for posting it, just the writer and publisher for calling it a “mystery”. I like these cute stories too.
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