fahrquad Posted February 23, 2019 Report Share Posted February 23, 2019 44 percent of all mammalian species currently surviving on Earth are "Rodents" (2050/4660). "Rodents have lived on the planet for at least 56 million years and modern humans for less than one million, but the consequences of their interactions during that short overlap of evolutionary time have been profound. For rodents, early humans were just another predator to avoid, but with Homo sapiens’ transition from nomadic hunting and gathering to sedentary agricultural practices, humans became a reliable source of shelter and food for those species having the innate genetic and behavioral abilities to adapt to man-made habitats. The impact of these species upon human populations ranges from inconvenient to deadly. Crops are damaged before harvest; stored food is contaminated by rodent waste; water-impounding structures leak from burrowing; and objects are damaged by gnawing. Certain species are reservoirs for diseases such as plague, murine typhus, scrub typhus, tularemia, rat-bite fever, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, and Lassa fever, among others. Only a few species are serious pests or vectors of disease (see house mouseand rat), but it is these rodents that are most closely associated with people." https://www.britannica.com/animal/rodent Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fahrquad Posted February 23, 2019 Author Report Share Posted February 23, 2019 Rodents are identified most commonly by 2 pairs of chisel-like incisors that never stop growing. Rodents have to keep chewing to keep their incisors from growing through their skulls. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rodent Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fahrquad Posted February 23, 2019 Author Report Share Posted February 23, 2019 Here is the biggest surviving rodent, the Capybara. The largest specimen to date was 201 pounds. By Fidel León Darder - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2891720 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fahrquad Posted February 23, 2019 Author Report Share Posted February 23, 2019 The smallest is the Pygmy Jerboa at 3 ounces. For vermin it is almost cute. https://www.livescience.com/33049-smallest-mammals.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fahrquad Posted February 23, 2019 Author Report Share Posted February 23, 2019 Living in the middle of a hardwood forest we have an abundance of Gray Squirrels far in excess of what can be predated by hawks, cats, dogs, raccoons, and possibly fox*. I harbor a personal hatred of Gray Squirrels bordering on psychopathic and will shoot or run over one at the first opportunity. I shot one from the bathroom window about a half hour ago that looked to be about 2 pounds. Not my photo. * I have seen what looks like fox footprints down by the creek, but I have yet to see one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fahrquad Posted February 23, 2019 Author Report Share Posted February 23, 2019 Here is a rat with overgrown incisors. I will assume it can't eat normally. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fahrquad Posted February 23, 2019 Author Report Share Posted February 23, 2019 Me so horny, me love you long time... The babirusas are a genus, Babyrousa, in the pig family (Suidae) found in Wallacea, or specifically the Indonesian islands of Sulawesi, Togian, Sula and Buru. All members of this genus were considered part of a single species until recently, B. babyrussa, but following the split into several species, this scientific name is restricted to the Buru babirusa from Buru and Sula, whereas the best-known species, the north Sulawesi babirusa, is named B. celebensis. The name “pig-deer” has sometimes also been used in English, and is a direct translation of the Indonesian babi-rusa. https://oddanimals.com/babirusa/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fahrquad Posted February 23, 2019 Author Report Share Posted February 23, 2019 Note: That toothy beast is NOT a Rodent, but the extraordinary dentition was worth showing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fahrquad Posted February 24, 2019 Author Report Share Posted February 24, 2019 Posted Yesterday, 12:25 PM"Living in the middle of a hardwood forest we have an abundance of Gray Squirrels far in excess of what can be predated by hawks, cats, dogs, raccoons, and possibly fox*. I harbor a personal hatred of Gray Squirrels bordering on psychopathic and will shoot or run over one at the first opportunity. I shot one from the bathroom window about a half hour ago that looked to be about 2 pounds." The squirrel I shot yesterday afternoon was gone this morning as expected. Somebody got a nice little snack and I didn't have to sling the carcass into the woods at the end of a shovel. Life is good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fahrquad Posted February 24, 2019 Author Report Share Posted February 24, 2019 Red Fox footprints in mud (not my photo). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fahrquad Posted February 24, 2019 Author Report Share Posted February 24, 2019 Who knew the feet of the Redd Foxx were so small? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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