Of Mice and CHU

Iraqi Wildlife: Part One

Across the vast expanse of barren wasteland called the Anbar province, there is little life to be found. An occasional fly can be seen seeking out the moist areas of your face--your eyes or mouth. Otherwise the hot desert sun keeps most creatures out of sight during daytime hours. When the sun goes down and the moon comes up, curiously fast lizards about 2 inches long from nose to tail appear everywhere. They scatter when you shine a light on the ground or wall. They are sand-colored, gecko-looking lizards and one lives on my window. His name is "Allstate" and he can be found every night stuck to the glass pane outside my CHU. I'm not sure what his mission is. I would like to think that he's there catching and eating mosquitos but I may just be hopeful.

Below the window where my lizard friend lives are several sand-filled barriers. The sides of these barriers are made of a wire netting and the tops are uncovered, exposing the sand and pebbles inside of them. On these barriers outside of my CHU live two mice. They are very small; their bodies measuring no longer than 1 1/2 inches. They are a grayish-brown color and quite cute. They scurry away behind the barriers at any sound or flash of light. As an experiment, I broke up a strawberry pop-tart and placed it on the top of one of the barriers to see if they would eat it. The next morning, every last piece was gone! Now when I come home at night, instead of scurrying away, the two mice sit on the edge of the barrier looking at me. I can't tell if they want another pop-tart or if they just aren't scared of me anymore. I am told by my Command that a lot of these 'field mice' have rabies. I have decided not to invite my mice neighbors in for tea and strawberry pop-tarts.

The most exciting creature I have spotted here was running across the gravel pathway between my CHU and the cement T-walls that surround our row. A small, thin, orange-and-white tabby cat ran from under my CHU to the next row without stopping to see if I had any tuna to offer it. This chance meeting happened during the day when I was coming back to my CHU for a drink of water. I was told later that other cats have been seen also--a gray one and a white one. The rumor is that the cats were released into our compound to control the mouse population so that snakes were not enticed into our living area. If that is the case, then I hope they release a few more cats here because I'm terrified of snakes especially the black cobras that have been seen around the hospital gate.

Stay tuned: I promise to keep you updated on the Iraqi wildlife I encounter here.