The Kinney County Post and Mr. James Saunders bring us:

"Nature Notes: The Desert's Mighty Mouse"


A short snippet from the Tuesday, December 28, 2010 edition.


"There's a common predator in West Texas that kills its prey with a crushing bite to the back of the neck.

"This savage beast howls to mark its territory.

"You may be thinking of a mountain lion or a coyote, or even a large raptor such as a red - tailed hawk.

"But this predator is a small rodent less than six inches in length and weighing less than an ounce: the grasshopper mouse ..."


When these mice claim their territory, with a series of nocturnal vocalizations ...


"A vocalizing grasshopper mouse is eerily reminiscent of a howling wolf.

"It lifts its chin, point sits snout at the sky, and emits a high - pitched whistle than can carry for 200 yards and lasts for more than a second..."

Pretty neat little critter, huh? :)