TRUE STORY: Wall•e Freaks Out

This one's pretty self explanatory. I guess fame really did this little guy in.

Wall•E Loves Noise Toys (part 1) from Gian Pablo Villamil on Vimeo.

COOL ANIMAL 'O THE WEEK: Pack rats

                                                                                         fig. 1

The pack rat (neotoma cinerea for all you science buffs) is nature's little hoarder. These cuties mostly live in the deserts of the American Southwest, so I guess you can't really blame them for wanting to spice up their lives with a few shiny objects. Pack rats love collecting treasures and incorporating them into their messy nests or "middens". Mostly, pack rats like to settle their middens (fig. 2) in caves, like this little guy:

                                                                                                 fig. 2

It is said that the crystallization of the pack rat's urine is what cements the midden together. But beyond this practical use, the urine can also preserve the midden for up to 40,000 years. This has really been great for scientist and archeological egg-head types. So here's to you, pack rat! Thank you.