I was cleaning up my hard drive when I came across this photo. I realized I had neglected one blog from October last year about one of our beloved baits, and so allow me to dedicate this to her; may she rest in peace...She was inappetent and weak for a few days—Geri (as in short for Geronima), one of our lab rats, barely touched her food, and refused to budge even when gently poked. We were worried enough to close the trap, and take her home with us where we hope she’ll recover. Hopefully nothing that some TLC won’t cure.
But now she seems to be well. Well enough to attempt to escape the trap where we’ve put her temporarily as she recovers. I put her out on the grass, thinking that the sun would be good for her. I watched her as she tries, in vain, to bite the mesh. She would try and dig through the soil through the wire mesh, again, in vain. She would make some somersaults of sorts, although I cannot understand how, for the life of me, this will help her escape. I offered her some food. I didn’t dare put my hand close to anywhere she can reach with her teeth, no sir. She grabbed at it with her hands and teeth, like she wasn’t fed earlier. We shared that moment, human and rat. One trying to figure out how the other is; what it’s like to be the other being; what goes on in its brain, and thinking, "We're going to put you back out there again. Get me a maral, ok?" The other, just trying to get some food and taking the chance for an escape to the free world. Sometimes, life should be simple.
In memoriam.
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