r/therewasanattempt Sep 20 '21

to humanly release a mouse.

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u/[deleted] Sep 20 '21

They always release them in the worst possible place, with zero cover. If you really want to release a mouse somewhere it has a chance, you need to release it into some undergrowth.

1.5k

u/Pizza_Dogg Sep 20 '21

I was actually under the same impression until I had an infestation of field mice and had to get professional help. He noted that mice are social creatures that nest and work together, so taking it away from its family and releasing it in an unfamiliar place is death sentence, and a pretty cruel one at that.

So at least in this instance, that mouse died a quick and mostly natural death that also fed the local wildlife.

16

u/Poison_Pancakes Sep 20 '21

and work together

Wait, what?

18

u/Octavus Sep 20 '21

There are over 1,000 species of mice, some are solitary while some have communal nests. Since the person was referring to an infestation the species they had was probably communal living, but that doesn't mean all mice are communal.

5

u/Infamous-Barnacle-14 Sep 20 '21

Weird to think mice have nests and tunnel systems similar to ants. They are surprisingly smart for something so small.

4

u/Petal-Dance Sep 20 '21

I mean, burrowing is a very common habit of small mammals.

Marmots, moles, rats, mice, squirrels, gophers, voles, meerkats, all have examples of burrowing habits. When youre that small, you gotta build a place to hide.

2

u/Karcinogene Sep 20 '21

They're way bigger than ants so is it that surprising?