The Rodent War Chronicles (part one)

I am beginning to accept that my dealings with rodents will be an on-going concern during my stay in The Gambia. Consequently, I felt it important to title my post in such a way that demonstrates that I have reconciled myself to this and acknowledge that there may be many more posts relating to rodent issues. The war chronicles have began, there will be victories and defeats on both sides and blood will be shed (hopefully not mine)!

Following the discovery of ñino jalo in the latrine area there have been further developments. Ñino Jalo was spotted one evening when I returned from a trip to Kombo and it was the next day that I went to work and found out the name of the strange creature. When I returned from work that evening I was talking to my neighbour, Isatou (mother of Bassi and little Kaddy) and she said that during the day (when I was at work) she saw a ñino jalo in her house, she cornered it and then called one of the boys from the compound to kill it. (Apparently he beat it with a stone). 

Well being an optimistic person I thought that this was wonderful news and that Isatou had killed 'the' ñino jalo! I believed that there was very little for me to do now and I didn’t even bother setting a rat trap (though if truth be told I did keep looking at the plug hole every time I used the latrine area).

To my horror, the next morning when I woke up and went to the latrine there were large droppings littering the floor?!!Oh no! How could this be? Surely there was only one ñino jalo in the whole of The Gambia and Isatou killed it?!!

Reluctantly I had to accept the possibility that there might be more than one ñino jalo and though I’m sure Isatou killed the hideous beast that lived in my plughole (please please be true) there may be others around. So the trap was set.

Now the trap is a vicious little thing (actually it's quite big) and the metal bit that springs back to kill the rodent is so fast and strong (not to mention loud), I really believe that it could cut your fingers off, it would break your hand at the very least! Setting the trap was quite scary and when I put it on the floor in the latrine area I did so delicately and was anxious the whole time about the slightest vibration setting it off and giving me a heart attack.

Well a few days passed and the trap was empty and rather than admit that the location of the trap or the food source placed on it (a lump of meat covered in peanut sauce courtesy of Isatou) needed changing I was happy to believe that all the ñino jalos that lived in my vicinity were dead. That is until one morning when I got up and saw the trap upside down with the lump of meat close by!

At first I was too scared to turn the trap over, though it didn't look like anything was underneath it the thought of having my hands so close to a killer ñino jalo terrified me. I was brave though and realised that it had to be done - so I called Paul!!

The trap was turned over and it was rodent-less. There was however a tail!! I assumed that it was the tail of a rodent but Isatou (who seems to be thriving on my ñino jalo issues) inspected the tail and announced that it belonged to a lizard. I felt bad that I had trapped a lizard’s tail but I’m sure that their tails grow back?!!

I have to confess that it took me a couple of days to remove the tail from the trap - it was all a bit gross. After removing the tail I left the trap (not set) outside for a while and temporarily forgot my ñino jalo concerns (I don't think that I actually forgot it - I just put it to the back of my mind though I still made sure that the doors to the house were closed properly, even when popping in and out the house and I also inspected the latrine area before entering and did all my business in there with an eye on the plughole). 

Ñino Jalo was becoming a distant memory, that is until the other day when Isatou ran into my house shrieking with excitement, 'Kaddy, Kaddy, ñino jalo, ñino jalo!' She came into my house, grabbed my hand and led me next door; through her house and out into her cooking and latrine area (which is literally separated from mine by a wall about 6ft high - at the bottom of which there is a hole big enough for a cat to get through). She pushed past the children who had gathered to see the spectacle and pointed eagerly to a bucket in the corner. 'Ñino Jalo' she said, 'ñino jalo'.

At first when I looked down at the bucket I couldn’t see anything but then after close examination I saw the nose of a rodent hiding behind the bucket (the rodent thought it was hiding but in fact it was trapped there by the blood-thirsty crowd). Apparently it had come from my latrine area through the hole at the bottom of the wall and into Isatou's latrine area. One of the boys from the compound was summoned. The boy broke a piece of wood in half and using the jagged edge he speared ñino jalo in the side. He then used the piece of wood to pull it out from behind the bucket and crushed its head with a large stone. Ñino Jalo's little leg shook for while and then stopped.

The killing of ñino jalo was a strange emotional experience for me. As I watched the make-shift spear plunge into ñino jalo's side and then the stone crushing down on its head, I was aware that I was witnessing something unpleasant HOWEVER I was also aware that another ñino jalo was being eradicated (possibly the one that lived in my latrine) and I couldn’t help but feel relieved and a little bit excited.

I took a photo of ñino jalo as it was being carried out the house so I thought that I'd share that joy with you all!! I think all the ñino jalos in The Gambia are dead now however I still set my rat trap that evening - just in case!!!

The killer trap (with the tail attached!!)

A closer look at that tail!

A dead nino jalo (the last one in The Gambia?!!)