House-proud Welsh mouse may be ‘tidying’ for fun, say scientists

The rodent was filmed repeatedly gathering objects and placing them in a tray in a shed in Builth Wells

Mice like to keep themselves clean, but does this diligence extend to their homes? Video footage of a mouse gathering up objects in a shed and placing them neatly inside a box, night after night, has been interpreted as evidence for “mousekeeping”. But there could be other explanations for this curious behaviour, experts say.

The Builth Wells rodent, nicked named “Welsh Tidy Mouse” by the shed’s owner, Rodney Holbrook, was recorded gathering clothes pegs, corks, nuts and bolts and placing them in a tray on Holbrook’s workbench – a behaviour that has been going on for months. It follows a similar incident in Bristol in 2019, when a mouse was videoed “stockpiling” screws, piece of chain and other metal items inside a box of bird feed.

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