The title says it all really. Five photos of a rat at Falmer today. I had to work hard to get these shots as the tangle of branches severely restricts the camera angle. The last two show the rat grooming itself after a short swim in the pond.

Brown rat in tree

Brown rat in tree

Brown rat in tree

Brown rat in tree

Brown rat in tree

Fox update: Pretty hasn’t been around since Sunday. No sign of her yesterday or today. She’s due her second mange treatment so hopefully her absence is temporary. There were a couple of new foxes on the trail camera last night, and we could hear lots of calling in the locality. The birth of cubs may well be causing some disruption in the pecking order (and Pretty ranks low among the other foxes judging by her generally submissive behaviour when other foxes are around), so I hope she’s not been driven away. The badgers have also shown up several times. More news as and when.

Camera note: all photos taken with the Canon 7D and EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L USM IS lens.

This Post Has 4 Comments

  1. They’re charming, words … they remind me of a book I had as a child, “A House for a Mouse”. Lovely B&W graphics … no longer available, I think.
    I hope Pretty is OK.

    1. dW, thanks! My tendency to get cute rather than rugged shots works quite well with these little charmers. They really are good fun to photograph. Just enough of a challenge but tolerant as well.

  2. Wonderful. I don’t know if any wild rat calendars exist, but with a few more of these, you could put one together! 🙂

    One of the vixens here has had mange. She’s had her second ivermectin dose but the seasonal disappearing act has made it more nerve-wracking than usual.

    1. Adele, I’ve thought of doing a calendar of them for myself, but I suspect none of them will sell until we get another ‘giant rat’ story breaking in the press, or some such anti-wildlife scare.

      Our interlopers seem to have patches of mange. I’m not sure whether they’ve chased Pretty off, but not a sign of her for three days now. The ivermectin waits. Good luck with your vixen.

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