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Dance? I’d shimmy like a spaz in a revival tent!

skrjabingylus

Mesablue kindly dropped me this BBC video link, showing a stoat doing the charming Weasel Dance. They don’t dance on account of snow, though. YouTube turns up other examples, and I have seen two different captive stoats do the dance.

The usual romantic explanation for the dance is that it is intended to mesmerize prey. Stoat dances, rabbit goes what the fuck?, stoat bites his neck until he goes dead.

Or it could be the worms up their noses. Skrjabingylus nasicola. Lives in the gut of a snail. Mouse eats snail, weasel eats mouse and the worm — by a process that doesn’t bear thinking of — works its way up into the sinuses of the weasel. Up to 100% of the weasels in some areas are afflicted with Skrjabingylus. Eats holes in their little skulls, no lie (though I think the skulls in the picture are skunk).

Yeah. I’d dance.

Personally, though, I think they dance from the wild exuberance of being a stoat.

Comments


Comment from Uncle Badger
Time: February 6, 2009, 8:51 pm

It explains so much…


Comment from Steamboat McGoo
Time: February 6, 2009, 9:01 pm

Worms in the skull.

Digger wasps.

Tapeworms.

Liberals.

Weasel, I think Nature really sucks.

A lot.


Comment from Uncle Badger
Time: February 6, 2009, 9:24 pm

Good to see you, McGoo ๐Ÿ™‚

And, yes… it do.


Comment from S. Weasel
Time: February 6, 2009, 9:42 pm

McGoo! I’m so off my daily blog reads, I haven’t kept up with ANYBODY this Winter. How you be?

I read a book on parasites once. It made me want to ram an icepick in my temple, it really did.


Comment from blake
Time: February 6, 2009, 9:44 pm

Nature is gross.

Oh, McGoo beat me to it.

For fun, follow up with a viewing of “Bug”.


Comment from Steamboat McGoo
Time: February 6, 2009, 10:29 pm

Blake – I bought that flick quite a while back. it’s still in the wrapper. I’ll watch it tomorrow. I need a good non-thermal shiver.

I’m surviving Stoaty! I’ve tried to keep up here but life and weather have interfered a lot. I’m on generator power at home for the 11th day now.

I have noted you seem to be getting comfy ‘over there’, as they said in the old days. Congrats!

We are of a like mind on parasites, and bubonic – as we both knew already. The idea of having something inside me FEEDING on me just drives me bonkers.


Comment from Mrs. Hill
Time: February 6, 2009, 10:40 pm

Worms in the skull.

Digger wasps.

Tapeworms.

Liberals.

Don’t forget Deer Worms. We had a leftward leaning sheep once that turned out to have one of those burrowing horrors in its noggin.

Hmmmm — too bad we can’t cure liberalism with massive doses of anthelminthics!


Comment from Steamboat McGoo
Time: February 6, 2009, 11:08 pm

Mrs. H – I just read about them. No sleep for me tonight now. Thanks. ๐Ÿ™‚

We forgot … ticks (Stoaty’s hiking favorite), and Bot flies.


Comment from scubafreak
Time: February 7, 2009, 12:16 am

OK, since we are on the subject of parasites,

Leaches
Screw flies (the Bot fly’s nastier cousin)
Heartworms
Tapeworms
Hippies (all hail Eric Cartman)
Brain-Sucking Amoebas (Don’t swim in Spirit Lake)
Commies
Gang-bangers
Congress-Critters
Rats
Mosqitoes
Hyenas
Kieth Olberman
Fleas
Rosie O’Donnell
Chiggers
San Francisco

Anyone else want to name a few? ๐Ÿ˜‰


Comment from scubafreak
Time: February 7, 2009, 12:24 am

Oh, forgot the Spiney Canderoo.


Comment from porknbean
Time: February 7, 2009, 1:07 am

My brother…


Comment from Michael
Time: February 7, 2009, 1:41 am

I concur with Scubafreak, although I’d move Olbermann and O’Donnell much higher on the list, between “Heartworms” and “Tapeworms”.

I’ve been in a genuine “revival tent”, BTW. My advice: make like Brave Sir Robin and run away. Fastly.

I’ll add head lice to the list. Every other week we get a note from the government school about the vermin…..


Comment from Gibby Haynes
Time: February 7, 2009, 9:50 am

I remember seeing a stoat do The Weasel Dance on [insert whichever season] Watch on BBC Two some time ago. In fact, I think I mentioned it on here. It’s depressing to think it might not just be cute exuberance, but instead something insidious like a parasite.

By the way, this funny dancing reminds me: did either of you mustelids see the lasest Victorian Farm episode? One of the guys was bee-keeping and he suddenly said something like, ‘There’s a bee on my meat and two veg!’ and then starting doing this Get It Off jig. It was hilarious. There’s probably a repeat over the weekend. It’s worth watching just for that.

I’ve been watching quite a lot of BBC stuff recently. There must be something rong with me. God I hope it isn’t Skrjabingylus nasicola.


Comment from S. Weasel
Time: February 7, 2009, 10:32 am

We watched an episode of the Victorian Farm last night, but I think we’re an episode behind. We never watch anything live. So we having seen the dude get it in the peen.

We’re really, really enjoying that one. I gather the ratings are through the roof. But, of course, the BBC would really rather be producing lefty psychodramas about white middle class prejudice or something, so…


Comment from Gibby Haynes
Time: February 7, 2009, 11:57 am

Yeah, I grudgingly admit that Aunty manages to occasionally produce a diamond in an otherwise sea of raw, human effluent. Still don’t see why they can’t do that commercially like everyone else though.

Anyway, that episode is on tonight at 7pm on BBC Two. Not only is there bee-keeping, but there’s also a red-brick walled vegetable garden and a steam engine. I’m thinking B would dig one – if not both – of those things.


Comment from porknbean
Time: February 7, 2009, 12:47 pm

Worms in the sinuses. That has to hurt like a motherf*cker.
*wonders if self has eaten any tainted mice or snails or stoats in the past…frequent victim of sinus headaches*


Comment from scubafreak
Time: February 7, 2009, 1:36 pm

Oh, don’t forget Crotch Crabs and Ted Kennedy


Comment from Mikey NTH
Time: February 7, 2009, 2:18 pm

Sounds like a good time to swear off mouse.

‘Meat and two veg.” I’ll admit I haven’t heard that one before.

For those who wish to get back to nature – just head into the wilds unarmed and chances are you will get back to nature. After first passing through a digestive tract.


Comment from Lipstick
Time: February 7, 2009, 2:43 pm

My four ferrets all do the weasel war dance when I let them out and they’re all excited and ready to play.

No worms in those guys, just exuberance.


Comment from porknbean
Time: February 7, 2009, 3:22 pm

No worms in those guys, just exuberance.

Like guinea pigs, who ‘popcorn’ when they are happy and playing.


Comment from Jill
Time: February 7, 2009, 7:32 pm

Scuba, you forgot my sister, her husband and all of their verminous, parasitic and scabrous offspring.

And if verminous isn’t a real word, then I just made it a real word, because it sounds good and really applies to my sister, godammit.

(ah, for fuck’s sake…I’m ranting)


Comment from S. Weasel
Time: February 7, 2009, 8:26 pm

Certainly verminous is a word. A very good word that aptly describes pretty much everyone in my famn damily, too.


Comment from Jill
Time: February 7, 2009, 8:29 pm

Family.

Feh.


Comment from Allen
Time: February 7, 2009, 9:13 pm

You know I wanted to be a televangelist when I grew up. “Put your hand on your monitor and feel the healing power!” Oh, and send me some cash. Heh, I gave a sermon at a tent revival once. I think it involved some shine and hiding from the revnooers.

Then the physics thing intruded. Hey, but Rodeo Clown School starts in a few months.

Leeches give me the shivering goobers.


Comment from harbqll
Time: February 7, 2009, 10:09 pm

One semester of Parasitology. That’s all it took. I’m NEVER going to Africa or Southeast Asia.

Never.


Comment from Mrs. Hill
Time: February 8, 2009, 12:20 am

“weasel eats mouse”

Noooooo!


Comment from Sarah D.
Time: February 9, 2009, 1:16 am

I find it interesting that Western enlightened liberals, who have never had to deal with actual parasites, think humans are.

I can’t help feeling that a run in with a candiru or dracunculiasis would do them good.


Comment from Mikey NTH
Time: February 9, 2009, 1:54 pm

It comes from being sheltered from all of the actual agricultural and natural life that our ancestors had to put up with. I think spending a nice spring week mucking out the barn and stables from the winter’s collection would be sufficient to cause all but the most addled to drop on their knees and thank God for the industrial revolution.

You can go home from the factory. From the farm? You are on 24/7/52.


Comment from Farmer_Joe
Time: February 9, 2009, 2:02 pm

Have I mentioned that I wrote (and continue to perform) a song called “Rodent Dance”?


Comment from Christopher Taylor
Time: February 9, 2009, 2:14 pm

Hm, yeah that does look like the poor little thing is being bothered, like something is on its head ๐Ÿ™

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