Missing Your False Teeth?
The bushy-tailed wood rat, more commonly know as a pack rat, derived its name from its compelling desire to collect all sorts of small articles, especially shiny objects. There have been instances where pack rats have taken money, diamond rings and even false teeth. The items stolen are often replaced with useless things such as twigs or pebbles. Occasional they will trade valuable objects. According to one tale "a pack rat left some gold nuggets on the table in a prospector’s cabin in exchange for some trivial trinkets."
I once came across a pack rat’s treasure cache in an old shed. There wasn't any gold or diamonds but it did contain an assortment of unusual items: tin pie plate, coat hanger, 2 combs, nylon binder twine, fly trap, 2 metal brackets, gasket, 12 wood screws, horse hoof trimming, piece of leather harness, plastic bottle cap, buckle, cardboard, rock, wooden dowel, 4 Douglas fir cones and 2 freeze wrappers. From the list it seems that bushy tailed wood rats are much like people in their habit of bringing home useless junk, but then I should talk. I’m sure my garage would be the envy of any pack rat!
Observations
Photos / Sounds
What
Bushy-tailed Woodrat (Neotoma cinerea)Observer
larryhalversonDescription
Pack rat moved into the Earl Grey cabin located in the Purcell Wilderness Conservancy - packing lots of vegetation for its nest.
See Journal
https://inaturalist.ca/journal/larryhalverson/29053-missing-your-false-teeth
Comments
I've not spent enough time in the west to have ever seen a woodrat in person, but they seem like rodents with character! Thanks @larryhalverson
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