« The Philosopher is under way! | Front Page | Hail Mary time ... »
A thief in the house ...
Posted by Dave Bull on June 14, 2012 [Permalink]
I guess it had to happen eventually ... With so many different people now coming and going, it was perhaps inevitable that at least one of them would be a bit light-fingered. And with so many attractive things just lying around the place, it was tempting fate to ignore the possibility that things would start to go missing.
But that is indeed what has happened. I first noticed things missing two days ago, and the experience was repeated yesterday. That narrowed down the field of candidates somewhat, and I managed to nail down the culprit by use of a special little camera I have here.
Rather than put the whole story here on the blog, I have made a separate page to tell the story.
Please have a look, and then come back here to leave your comments ...
Added by: Anita Cage on June 14, 2012, 10:14 am
Thanks for another great wildlife story. I hope the staff enjoys seeing the 'evidence' exonerating them! I especially hope no one is put off the idea of picnics, weather permitting, simply because this fellow likely lives in the trees not too far away.
What strikes me is how reminiscent it is of the American skunk with the black and white markings and the similar defensive mechanisms. This question alone makes me wish I had read more biology. It seems to me that, if taxonomy keeps changing, eventually a closer relationship than heretofore suspected between certain Eastern and Western critters might be discovered.
Added by: Marc Kahn on June 14, 2012, 10:15 am
A palm civet? How cool!
As a side note, the palm civet plays an important role in producing the most expensive coffee in the world. It's called "Kopi Luwak" and is documented in this Wikipedia article. Hard to believe, but true...
Marc
Added by: Dave on June 14, 2012, 10:23 am
I think it's a slightly different species Marc. This is our critter ...
But yeah ... Mokuhankan Coffee - 'specially processed' right on the premises - to go with our Mokuhankan Muffins! :-)
Added by: Diane on June 14, 2012, 11:30 pm
Wonderful, Dave... This needs documentation in a moku hanga print!
Added by: Lana Lambert on June 15, 2012, 12:43 am
The little weasel! He will leave no loquats for you!
Added by: Dave on June 15, 2012, 1:03 am
No, none indeed. Last night he went over the whole thing, and left nothing but a couple of tiny green ones.
But it's been fun, and - to tell the truth - loquats really don't do that much for me anyway. I'd rather have the persimmons that were in that same spot 12 years ago (before the previous owner of this place took the tree with him when he left!)
Added by: Sharri L on June 15, 2012, 3:14 am
You are on the ball to catch him the act. Thanks for the great entertainment. We have a critter coming around lately and turning on the outdoor lights. He is very camera shy, though and we have not caught him on film, yet. Voles are the essence of my garden worry at the moment - they are the worst. They don't give a hoot for the fruit, just the roots. (hey, I think that's poetry!)
Add Your Input
