The behavior of a “neat mouse” cleaning up after a person has received a scientific explanation

Welsh mouse caught on video constantly cleaning the barn may be “tidying up” for fun, scientists say. The rodent was repeatedly captured on video picking up scattered items and placing them in a tray in a barn in Builth Wells.

Mice love to keep themselves clean, but does this zeal extend to their homes? Video footage of a mouse collecting objects in a shed and carefully placing them in a box night after night has been interpreted as evidence of “mouse thriftiness.” But experts say there may be other explanations for this curious behavior.

According to The Guardian, the UK rodent, dubbed the “Welsh neat mouse” by shed owner Rodney Holbrook, has been recorded collecting clothespins, plugs, nuts and bolts and placing them in a tray on Holbrook’s desk – behavior that has been going on for months. The story follows a similar incident in Bristol in 2019, where a mouse was filmed putting screws, a piece of chain and other metal objects into a box of birdseed.

Assuming that the Welsh Clean Mouse does indeed keep its home clean, scientists remind us that it is not the only animal involved in “cleaning”: bees and ants remove corpses from their hives and tunnels; songbirds move their droppings, uneaten food and dead chicks away from their nests, perhaps to reduce the risk of infestation and eliminate odors that might attract predators. North Pacific rattlesnakes use their bodies to clear vegetation from strike paths at their usual ambush sites, which can improve the accuracy of their attacks.

But whether the “Welsh neat mouse” actually engaged in “mouse work” or some other activity remains a matter of debate. Although mice often groom themselves and, given enough space, create a separate toilet in their cage, Dr Megan Jackson from the University of Bristol, who studies the foraging behavior of laboratory mice, notes: “I wouldn’t say that this mouse looked at its surroundings and thought : “Hey, this place is dirty. I need to clean this place up.”

According to Dr Johnny Cohl, who studies the neural basis of mouse behavior at the Francis Crick Institute in London, the “Welsh neat mouse” may instead have been exhibiting an unusual form of nesting behavior: “It would be interesting to know whether this mouse is male or female,” he added. – Male and female mice build nests to keep warm, and female mice build nests to raise their young during pregnancy. Given the low temperatures in the video, I suspect it may be the former.”

However, it’s an interesting case because some of the objects collected are not things that would normally be associated with suitable nest building materials, Megan Jackson points out: “They’ll usually choose materials that give them a bit of structure, and something soft so that keep warm.”

Alternatively, the “Welsh neat mouse” can indulge its natural curiosity. Mice and other rodents often enjoy exploring and interacting with new objects. Take pack rats, large rodents native to North and Central America: they like to hide shiny objects in their nests, such as bottle caps, keys and stolen jewelry, writes The Guardian.

Megan Jackson’s lab mice, meanwhile, seem to enjoy foraging for the sake of foraging. “Mice really have an innate desire to go out into the world, pick up things and drag them back to a place they deem suitable for storing things,” Jackson notes.

Whatever the neat mouse’s motivation, she seems to find it enjoyable. “It’s not a behavior that’s necessary for survival, but she still does it night after night, even though she’s probably learned that Holbrook puts everything back the next day,” Jackson says. – The fact that this mouse is performing mindless behavior must mean that it finds it useful in some way. As humans, we enjoy different aspects of life. It’s actually quite nice to see a mouse perform a behavior that isn’t absolutely necessary.”