Observing the natural world has its own share of thrills. In the rainy evening of today, after enjoying the special tea and mirchi at a favourite joint, my friend Mayank and I set off to Fateh Darwaza, Golconda. Sparrows and Mynas were returning to their roosting spots. The swallows and swifts were flying low and feeding on the flying insects. As the darkness grew, the bats replaced the swallows in the business of catching flying insects. I was seated on a stone along the boundary wall of the darwaza. A hairy caterpillar emerged out of nowhere and gave me creeps. Their hair is very irritating to touch. Young caterpillars appear in large number during the monsoon. In India, the Red-headed Hairy Caterpillar is a major pest feeding on the rainfed crops.
After all the awing observations, we were returning to our homes on my bike. After driving for around 50 metres along the boundary wall, we saw some movement across the road. We thought it could be a garden lizard but in the flash of a second, what we saw was something incredible. It was a very small animal that was crossing the mud road and as soon as the glare of the bike’s headlight fell on it, the fast running animal overturned in a jiffy and lied absolutely still as if playing dead. We stopped the bike and started walking towards the animal with intense curiosity. It was the Asian House Shrew (Suncus murinus).
Dead or alive?
We thought the animal is playing dead as a part of its defence mechanism. The Asian House Shrew, locally called chuchunder іn India, is commonly found in human habitations. They are nocturnal. As a kid, I was terrified of their sound of jingling coins. Although they are beneficial to humans, they remain very unpopular and are often killed if detected. They have poisonous saliva that immobilizes small prey.
After cautiously approaching closer to the animal, we were making sure if it was acting dead or if it was really dead. We then observed an injury near its tail but on close inspection it was not very severe. Shrews have high metabolic rate and are nocturnal. They should keep on eating otherwise they will starve to death. We were clueless as to what caused the shrew overturn in a jiffy and lie down dead with no external factor acting upon it. I took a slender stick and gently touched it. It was very soft and there was no breathing. Then I pushed it gently towards some undergrowth, with so many questions in my mind lying unanswered.
Revealing the injury near the tail
We left the place then. This astonishing incident has left us intrigued. Did the shrew die due to exhaustion? or was the shrew simply acting dead? The mystery remains unsolved!!
Blissful wilderness 