Hi All

Rats and mice will hang by their front paws to gnaw.

I have watched a wild rat do a "hand over hand" traverse sideways along a
mortered seam in brickwork using nothing but it's front paws. The horizontal
distance travelled was 5 1/2 feet at a height of 6 feet from the ground. The
ledge in the morter was about 2 mm. The feat was repeated many times but I
only observed it once.

As regards brains the question I would pose is "how did the rat know there
was any point in performing the manouvre in the first place"?

Best regards Dave

----- Original Message -----
From: Robert Brenchley <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>

>     True, but would even the most acrobatic of wood mice really dangle
from
> its front legs with its bum in mid-air, while gnawing heroically to try to
> get through the mouse excluder? If so, it deserves top marks for
gymnastics,
> but none for brains.