John Savage wrote:

len gardener writes:

usually the rodents develop burrows for their nests and that is where
the young stay until they can follow around or fend for themselves.


That was my understanding, too. But what about when the nest gets dug up
or comes under threat by a predator. I was wondering whether the mother
would move her young to a new location by piggy-backing them, or by
picking them up in her jaws?

It's possible that the animal I saw was on its way to a new location.


the action you described sounds more like a native type animal.


It could be the creature that has been digging tunnels into my "worm
farm" patch of garden. I can't imagine it has much chance of survival,
here in the middle of high-density living. The local cats might not
ever go hungry, but they are instinctive hunters.

Mother rats and mice move their babies by picking them up in their jaws.
(And they usually pick the poor children up by some tender part such
as the face or a hindleg, causing much indignant squeaking!) I've never
known a rat or mouse to do the piggyback thing (I keep them as pets,
unnatural creature that I am! ;- Or, at least, I'm currently keeping
mice... it's been a long time since I had rats!) Oh and the wild ones
behave pretty much the same way as the domestic ones do, in case you
were wondering. The mothers make a nest of soft material and will move
the babies if they can, or completely abandon them if things get
extremely dire. But I've never heard of them piggybacking!

--
Trish {|:-}
Newcastle, Australia