Curing The Corporate Blues

I've been having an absolutely miserable time at work this last couple of days (much worse than the usual drag) and am in dire need of some serious cuteness to cheer me up!

Karoo Bush Rat (Boskaroorot - Otomys unisulcatus) hard at work cheering up someone's day

Being stuck behind a computer for 8 hours a day is hard enough, but when your a biologist at heart and you are stuck in the corporate web as well, then things can get very hard indeed.

But for me nature is never too far away. It is always there, waiting for you to discovered it's wonders. In fact I actively avoid places where nature isn't close at hand. It must be very hard living in a country or city without a healthy dose of nature close at hand to soothe those aches and pains from modern living.

Just what the doctor ordered

I get great joy from nature conservation because it allows little creatures like this to live out their lives to their fullest, the good times and the hard times, allowing them the space to be what they are.

Maybe one day somewhere somehow I'll find my own little place under the sun, deeply intertwined with nature's roots, where I can be free to live out my potential. But until then there are scary times and long struggles ahead.

I believe this fellow is practicing for the annual Koeberg Twig Fighting Championships (he looks like a contender)

I've been saving these photographs for the right time, and now seems to be just that time. These Karoo Bush Rats are such warm hearted little charmers.

Keeping company

One thing about camera trapping that I'm very grateful for is how it opened up the wonderful world of the small mammals to me. There are so many wonderful species that are so much more than just "rats" and "mice". So many species live out their amazing and mysterious little lives in a magical wilderness.

Every family has their problem children and these two might be them... From the way the one in front is holding that piece of grass I really hope he isn't smoking it...

Nature teaches us so much. One thing that struck me about these little fellows is that these rodents, somehow, manage to have a closer and more caring family than probably most humans ever will. I'm sure they have their fights and bad days too, but it really struck me how much they enjoyed each other's company in such a relaxed and natural way. It makes me think of why autistic people often respond better to animals than to humans.

If rodents can be sweet, and I'm sure they can, then this little family seems to be as sweet as they come

I don't have the energy to do a proper scientific post about these little charmers, so I'll save some of the footage for a later time when I can do them some more scientific justice.