Rodney Holbrook knew something was up when some of the things he constantly left scattered around would always show up in a box later. Being an avid wildlife photographer, he suspected something was up. So, he set up a night vision camera on his workbench. That’s when he found that, of all things, a mouse was really tidying up his things every night.
The Tidy Welsh Mouse
The mouse can be seen going about the workbench and putting things into a box. Pegs, corks, nuts and bolts, even a screwdriver that’s obviously difficult to carry — the mouse just tidies things and puts them in the box.
“Ninety nine times out of 100 the mouse will tidy up throughout the night. It is incredible really that they put them all back in the box, I think it’s possible that they enjoy it.”
The 75-year-old from Powys in Wales says the tidying ritual had been going on for two months. It started with some food and then moved on to other things.
“At first, I noticed that some food that I was putting out for the birds was ending up in some old shoes I was storing in the shed,” he said.
But why is the mouse doing it?
Scientists say this is a surprising behavior
Mice are generally fairly clean animals. They groom themselves and they often keep things tidy. Given enough space, they would typically set up a toilet area separate from a cleaner area. But this doesn’t seem to be what is happening here.
The Guardian asked Dr. Jonny Kohl, who studies the neural underpinnings of mouse behaviour at the Francis Crick Institute in London. Kohl said this could be an unusual type of nest-building behavior, but this is also rather strange because mice typically nest with things that keep them warm. Metal things aren’t really good for that, and this definitely isn’t your typical nest-building.
Instead, the tidy mouse could simply be indulging in its own curiosity.
Mice are curious creatures, and we might have underestimated their determination to indulge in curiosity. Their curiosity is driven by their need to constantly explore their environment for food, shelter, and information about potential predators and mates. This exploration behavior is crucial for their survival in the wild.
In the end, the mouse’s actions in Rodney Holbrook’s workshop may not fit neatly into our existing understanding of mouse behavior. This suggests a level of complexity and adaptability that should be intriguing to scientists and casual observers alike. Holbrook’s discovery, captured through his night vision camera, has provided a unique glimpse into the potential for behavioral diversity in mice. Perhaps, like humans, mice engage in tasks that bring them satisfaction or fulfil a need beyond the purely practical.
