Max, Extreme Hunter

Apparently, mice are boring.

We've already mentioned that Max has taken his hunting up a notch this year. In the last couple of weeks, Max has brought in all sorts of creatures.

Monday:	Pine Squirrel
Wednesday:	Another Pine Squirrel
Saturday:	Gopher (yay!)
Thursday:	Lizard
Saturday:	Another Lizard

Of course, Max brings most of the creatures in while Mike is away and I (the squeamish) am on my own.

For squirrel #1, Mike was at an irrigation ditch meeting. I heard Max meowing in an odd way that made me wonder if he was hurt. But when I saw him, I realized that the sound was muffled because his mouth was full of squirrel. Luckily the squirrel was dead so I just had to distract Max and execute my bucket routine. I place the bucket upside down over the victim so that Max can't continue to play with or eat his catch in the house. Distracting Max is key so that I don't get a dead animal thrown in my face. When Mike gets home he takes care of whatever is under the bucket.

What's under the bucket?

I think he's dead

Mike was also away for squirrel #2 and lizard #1. AND the lizard wasn't dead. The lizard looked exactly like the common rubber toy version as Max batted and chased it about. Max finally batted it under the hutch (THUD!) and then he couldn't reach him. I was nursing Anders at the time so I had to wait until I was finished to clean up the remains. I got down on my hands and knees to look for the lizard, but there was NOTHING THERE. All I found was part of the lizard's tail in the middle of the dining room floor; presumably it had fallen off during the struggle. Great, now there is an injured lizard someplace in the house.

Two days later Max brought in lizard #2, and it wasn't dead either. Mike was able to rescue him from Max and return him outdoors before much damage was done. A few hours later, lizard #1 emerged from whereabouts unknown after spending two days somewhere in the house. We returned him outside as well with a frayed tail and some good stories to tell his friends, but otherwise looking fine.

A pocket gopher and his last meal.

I'm sure Anders finds the whole scene entertaining: mom alternates between calmly handling the catch while praising Max for his hunting skills and a whole lot of squealing.

We are very impressed with Max's hunting skills; it seems that he's made significant leaps in his skills. But we'd be fine if Max focused on catching the real pests: gophers and mice.

- Corinne, Mike, and Anders Rocket