The big mouse/baby rat who perished last night in my previous post presents a mystery. Turns out he was NOT poisoned, or killed in the library by Colonel Mustard with the revolver.
This morning I dug him a small grave among the rosemary in my backyard, and (I love saying this) upon examining the body, it turns out he had a small but most likely deep puncture wound on the left side of his little throat under the chin. He most likely bled out from it, or it possibly also punctured his windpipe. It must have taken him hours to die. Ugh.
I did NOT do an autopsy.
I looked all around the area of the house where he first turned up, an area walled and gated off – no sign of any stray nail or the like where the poor little guy may have impaled himself. No blood on any of the screens blocking attic vents. There are probably some sharp edges inside my dryer vent, but that has a little door on it and I saw no signs of trouble there.
What kind of animal attack would produce one fatal wound and leave him to die without eating him?
Do rats fight and kill each other for dominance? And if so, why no scratches or a double wound from a pair of fangs?
Could some fight with a bird have done it? One good peck in that spot could be a killer, though the mouse would have to be on his back for it.
Did he owe a crow money?
It’s a real mystery. Theories welcome.
Jim Berkin 
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