Mice on the tube. Crap / Not crap?

[Reno]

It's in a book. Graham Greene? Some kid who's at some posh public school and his dad is killed by a pig falling off a balcony in Italy and he doesn't want to tell anyone because it's too embarrassing.

Yep, it's Greene and it's a short story called "A Shocking Accident"

And another vote for the mice. Cute and entertaining. I like a bit of wildlife in the city.

 

[davesgcr]

There used to be tube cats - saw one at Earls Court one night which seemed to know / sense which was the liverrail - ditto Farringdon - though I think someone nicked that one.

Presumably found plenty of "traffic" to go after ....

 

[liberty]

I love the cute little creatures

 

[scalyboy]

I once saw a weasel at King's Cross Thameslink. Made my day!

 

[jugularvein]

There used to be tube cats - saw one at Earls Court one night which seemed to know / sense which was the liverrail - ditto Farringdon - though I think someone nicked that one.

Presumably found plenty of "traffic" to go after ....

really?

what did they look like?

 

[stroober]

tube mice rock!!

 

[davesgcr]

The Farringdon cat was "well fed" - they looked as good as any domestic cat - probably fed by the staff in any case.

New York had some quite famous subway cats - one lived in Wall St station and had numerous gifts of tins of tuna etc to augment the basic rats and mice from regular users.

Br used to have station cats and they got a daily milk allowance drawn from the petty cash float in the booking office.

 

[spiralx]

Go lucky tube mice! Even cuter when there's a whole bunch of babies following their mum around

 

[knopf]

I voted "Crap" by mistake.

However, I shall attempt to salvage the situation by saying that tube mice are crap, because their destiny should be to be lured to my flat with a selection of titbits, and then placed in a luxury mousehouse, and coddled for the rest of their little mousey lives.

I love mice, me.

 

[Rollem]

the best thing about the undergound mice is when they make their way up onto the platform, and freak communters out

 

[oicur0t]

I've seen a mouse at bank get on a train.

And mouse (the dog) likes them too, sadly a bit too much. Wanting to jump onto the track and taste them is perhaps a bit dangerous.

 

[oicur0t]

*memory returns*

There's a station cat at north acton, called Minstrel. Mouse (the Dog) and her have a bit of a turf war going on.

 

[fogbat]

I've seen a mouse at bank get on a train.

I think I've seen pigeons travelling on the tube a couple of times. I can't help picturing the meeces having trouble Minding the Gap

Lovely, lovely meeces...

 

[marco mark]

I think I've seen pigeons travelling on the tube a couple of times QUOTE]



WOW

 

[Termite Man]

tube mice have to be a sub-species, no? they're so small!

they are actually quite large for mice , some mice are really tiny !

 

[Termite Man]

I think I've seen pigeons travelling on the tube a couple of times. I can't help picturing the meeces having trouble Minding the Gap

Lovely, lovely meeces...

I've seen a butterfly on the tube

 

[chico enrico]

i think they're excellent. in fact i always do my best to encourage their population spiral by chucking scrunched up crisps or any other food i have onto the tracks.

tho it would be better if there were rats leaping about, like in that james herbert book.

or giant toads, but i suppose that's pretty unlikely so the best i can hope for is rats.

 

[fudgefactorfive]

I think I've seen pigeons travelling on the tube a couple of times.

There was an article about this in the Metro quite a while back (around 5 years ago?). They get on and off at overground "Underground" stations. Somebody - at a London uni IIRC - actually did the research to see if the pigeons were consciously using the tube to "migrate" short distances. Really.

Best I could find about it was this on the BBC H2G2 community website:

Pigeons have been observed to get on the Underground at one stop and then off at the next-but-one stop, and to repeat this journey regularly. This is the subject of quite a lot of research at the moment.

There are actually "suburban" pigeons, who live in the north and west of London, who quite literally commute into town during the day to feed off the rich pickings provided by tourists, and then return to roost in the suburbs come nightfall.

The question is how they recognise the tube stations, and can this knowledge be written into tourist guide books.

 

[AnnO'Neemus]

There was an article about this in the Metro quite a while back (around 5 years ago?). They get on and off at overground "Underground" stations. Somebody - at a London uni IIRC - actually did the research to see if the pigeons were consciously using the tube to "migrate" short distances. Really.

Best I could find about it was this on the BBC H2G2 community website:

No way. Really?

*Awaits next edition of New Scientist for article on commuter pigeons quoting Urban75 as its source*

Bound to happen, innit, this one's even better than crack squirrels and the universal theory of lost teaspoons...

 

[Nicsi]

I loves meeces to peeces. Especially on the tube.

Either Metronet or Tube Lines' websites claimed that there were fewer of them these days because the tunnels were cleaner. I've not seen a drop in numbers, have you?

I have
I've seen so many less micies in the last year, and it makes me sad. I miss them. I used to want a Tube Mouse.

 

[subversplat]

I hope all these tube travelling fauna are buying tickets! *mutters about taxes and other malarkey*

 

[dervish]

I can never figure out how they get back up if they are in the lower bit by the platform, if you go to the end of the platform there is a sheer cliff (if you are a mouse) to get back out and no cover if they fall down.

Do they use ladders when commuters arn't looking?

 

[Orang Utan]

I think they live down there, so they don't need to get back up on the platform.
Mice can climb sheer surfaces quite easily though.

 

[treefrog]

Another vote for the tube meeces!

I was in Paris years ago and while I was waiting for the Metro I saw half a baguette on the track. It wiggle and a little mouse popped out the end! Must have some kind of dinner/mobile home combo....

 

[Windchaser]

I can never figure out how they get back up if they are in the lower bit by the platform, if you go to the end of the platform there is a sheer cliff (if you are a mouse) to get back out and no cover if they fall down.

Do they use ladders when commuters arn't looking?

Mice can jump, even better than frogs can. That fact surprised the hell out of me when I was trying to catch one that the cat had brought in the house.