A pest is just a pet misplaced

[womzilla]

New York has two major pieces of rodent news.

First, of course, is the Rats Gone Wild in a Taco Bell/KFC in the West Village (West 4th and 6th Ave, for those who Need To Know).

Watch on YouTube

I, of course, think the footage is adorable. There's a bit about twenty seconds in where one of the rats stops to scratch itself which is just TEH CYUTE! Opinions may differ, of course.

The other news is that a wild beaver has been spotted living in the Bronx River, near the Bronx Zoo. It is believed that this is the first wild beaver found within the current limits of New York City in 200 years. My commuting path runs alongside the Bronx River for several miles, so I consider it very much a part of my home; I'm glad that the years of environmental restoration of the River are bearing such furry fruit.

Comments

Just on the Off Chance You Haven't Seen This

[shelleybear.livejournal.com]

http://www.ratinabox.com/blog/

[lydy.livejournal.com]

OMG. They are the sweetest looking wild rats I've ever seen. The dialog is pretty funny, but mostly I was concentrating so hard on the rats I didn't decipher much of the conversation. The combination of horror and delight was clear in the vocal tones, though. Fun fun fun.

Last time I was in NYC, I was walking along with someone, at night, when suddenly he jumped and "Ehh!" quite loudly. It was kind of the noise one makes when the breath has been knocked out of one by surprise, not an ow or an oh, just a eh. He said a rat had run out of the alley and run into his leg. All these years of living in New York and he'd never had this quintessential New York experience. He seemed a bit freaked. I didn't tell him that I wished that I'd seen the rat, I bet it was pretty cute.

[nellorat.livejournal.com]

Next time you come to NYC, it'd be great if you could find time to come visit our ratsies (other people would be welcome also). Bigby looks like a wild rat (agouti); he's sweet and would never hurt anyone but is basically scared of everything. He'll cuddle because he's not assertive enough to sqirm away! Gulliver, Artie, and even Pip and Cindy may not be so sociable. But Tupelo, Sophie, Brooks, Honey, and Chiki are unabashed ratsie lurve.

[sarah-ovenall.livejournal.com]

Your avatar photo is beyond adorable.

[womzilla.livejournal.com]

That's Wilbur Whately as a very young boy. He was beyond adorable, indeed.

[shelleybear.livejournal.com]

Yeah sewer kitties!
No no, it was a joke from "Adventures In Babysitting".

[lydy.livejournal.com]

I loved Adventures in Babysitting.

[sister-bluebird.livejournal.com]

I'm the sort of person who always "aww"s at the "scary" rats in movies. Those are adorable. And incredibly unafraid of people.