Who are these people, and how did they make those tiny rat boards? [shaking head]
[Obligatory] Hang 20, Brah!
Sender-inner Mark D., [hang loose hand signal] And yeah, I like the hop at the end, too.
Ratical!
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hang 20 doods!
OMG! OMG! OMG!
Like No! Way!
OMG SURFER DUDE RODENTS FurSure. I had a moment there when I went wha… WHoa.. No.. THey didn’t really do that. But they did.
OMG these micies are too cute! I wish I surfed like that on my first try! Rock on little kahunas!
Fur sure! Fur sure! Totally gnarly!
Too cute!
Only thing that would have made it any cuter for me is if at the end they had been sitting under their little tiki hut sipping drinks out of coconuts!
(In real life I’m not much of a rat person, but I can be on CO.)
Actually, rodents probably did this long before humans ever came along — this is how we think the various islands got populated with different critters. Imagine them all saying to each other, “dood! let’s catch a wave over to Fiji!”
So, so cute !!!
Like tail-tewly awesome they rod-ent those waves like professionals!
Methinks this will cause some fuss…
…on the other hand, I loved it!
The hop at the end really is the best part.
(Errr, eroneous placement of a hyphen)
That should have been
“rode-ent”
*blushes* sorries *hides back under rock*
Ok I officially give up I cannot spell or pun effectively sorry folks, *turns in sillyness badge and calls it a day*.
Oh, my gosh I just laughed so much, that was excellent. Loving the hop also. Also liked the backwards surfing, and the one that stayed on when you thought that, surely, he mut have come off in the wave. Yay to rats!
Oh, my gosh I just laughed so much, that was excellent. Loving the hop also. Also liked the backwards surfing, and the one that stayed on when you thought that, surely, he mut have come off in the wave. Yay to rats!
Hmm, I think the lil rodents in that vid need lil life jackets. One hit with a board and not more surfing ratsaroni.
lmao as bad as I feel for those rats… that was freaking adorable. I think I need to go to youtube and favourite that stuff.
But…but…the vid intro asked if we’d ever seen surfing mice–and those are rats, no? Anyway, the little springs off the boards were TOO funny.
Was that last rat at the end wearing some kind of rat board shorts? Looked like some kind of fabric on its rear end. Maybe it was a little rat life jacket.
almost at the end, little dude one the green board , ALMOST TOTALLY caught a CURL!
It was SO totally AWESOME dude! You have to check the Vid again to catch it!
What a great way to spent a sunny afternoon!
OMG I cannot believe Meg would post something like this! This is animal cruelty! There’s blood splashing everywhere!!
*goes back to declawing kittens with a chocolate-covered rosty old pair of pliers*
And I thought surfing Penguins were redonkulous!!
Makes me want to go to the beach and see if there are other surfer rats out there.
if these are mice (and i think they are), then it would be Hang 18, since both rats and mice only have four toes on their “hands”.
I feel this may end up a pudding and chardonnay post……
*heads for fridge*….
Then add the head and tail in there! Hang 20!
No Way Brah! Too cool.
Oh how awesome! The people are clearly watching out for the rats (they’re right beside them at all times) and they found a gentle surf just right for them. While I wouldn’t trust MY rats to do this (I’ve always had wily ones, and haven’t actually trained them to do much), I bet many rats would love this. They adore the water.
But as I foresee nuffing, I have my raisin toast and ripe peaches ready!
“pudding and chardonnay”
please to esplain ?? ….
OK, I’ll be the first nuff. I have pet rats and they are not as hardy as people think, but they are sensitive intelligent creatures, so I am pretty sure these ones getting tumbled in saltwater are pretty terrified. Would it be as funny if they were kittens? What bothers me most is that others will see this and want to try it with a $5 rat from the pet store. There, all done!
Whoa dude! That was totally awesome! *says in Californian voice*
I can’t believe I’m the first to say it… totally rat-ical, dude.
I think this is cool and the rats proooobably, don’t mind, but at the same time, I see I big lolspeak capton over the picture DO NOT WANT! They don’t really have a choice do they? Then again, I used to put my parakeet on the ceiling fan and give him a little SLOW ride. What? He loved it! He didn’t fly off! I was 10.
Yeah, this isn’t amusing.
YAY!! NUFFS!!!
*cue instrumental surfing music as pudding food fight starts*
maybe it isn’t salt water?
maybe its a river or a lake?
they have lil waves too.
and wouldnt the rat’s run for their lives when they hit the beach if they were really scared? at least they didnt duct tape them to the boards so they couldnt fall off.
or I guess they could be snake-food.
they look like pretty lucky rats to me.
i didnt know rats had or wanted freedom of choice.
Liz, it is customary to have some light refreshment for nuff posts. We sling pudding and sip chardonnay, or whatever drink behooves us.
Angela, These rats might be terrified, but they might not. While I wouldn’t recommend doing this, the rats I’ve known would love it (assuming I can find a beach nearby as tame as this one). But I’m glad that you know your rats would not enjoy it and therefore will not try it.
Poor little animals! How dare someone think a rat would like water? Don’t you know the sewers where they run wild are DRY?
(Hazel, pass teh puddin’, plzkthx.)
Our poster poses the question “Who are these people, and how did they make those tiny rat boards?” Well, it’s obvious! It’s the same people that made the tiny backpacks for the flying hammies!
Annie, you in here? I swears I didn’t bring em, I’m still wearing my best behaviour! I’m not much of a rat girl myself, but these gnarly little dudes are pretty cute
TUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUBULAAAAR!! That’s amazing. I love making Kuzco, my rat, swim. But surfing?!? New realms await us, my furry little critter!
OMG. i dont know what to say.
what is the word for beyond redonk? i think a new term needs to be created.
do they have teensy little beach towels too?
too cute
Cassandra I am here and I know you didn’t bring um. I have had rats before and tehy (Mine .. well really my daughters) hated water so I have mixed feelings but the little Tailio of that last one who hoped off his board says he is pretty happy.
That would have been awesome if they didn’t call them mice because they are STOOPIT!!!
They’re rats, ratards. I mean…nevermind.
Anyway, I felt bad for the lil dude that hit the camera!
Brinn do you think they make like little cars and bikes for birds??
liz “i didnt know rats had or wanted freedom of choice.”
That’s a weird thing to say. Why wouldn’t an intelligent animal want freedom of choice? To avoid pain and suffering is a basic choice for all life forms. Rats have been proven to laugh and dream. Give them a little respect, because they will be on the planet much longer than we will.
Why not? They made a motorcycle for a mouse named Ralph (or maybe that was in a book…)
They make tiny iPods for cats’ ears.
and before someone tells me my rats don’t have freedom of choice because they live in cages, one of my rats is free-range, and the other three live in a huge 5′ tall ferret cage in the kitchen that is open to a big balcony. I don’t even shut the cage door.
People like Angela are the reason I enjoy ‘versies so much!
Helene ROFLMAO…. OMG trying to chock down my laughter. Stopppppppp hehehe
I live above a restaurant and I breed free-range mice! Don’t tell my landlord though.
Wow, we should all breed free-range mice and rats. It’s been a while since we had a good plague.
I love versies too. We rat lovers can be a cantankerous bunch because we love our little pals. Actually, I don’t like kittens, so I wouldn’t mind seeing kittens getting drenched in cold saltwater.
LOL Brie, you’re the best, Annie will totally choke on that one!
rat wipe outs. classic
*watches video again* Damn, that water must be FREEZING if those guys are wading around in shorts!
Uh-oh. Angela discovered our secret weapon… Sarcasm and oil on fire!
*starts clipping rat tails with a chocolate-covered rusty old pair of pliers*
Hey, if this commentroversy calms down because Helene and Angela start getting along and making peace amongst the masses, we should start talking about home births or something.
Home births? You mean the kind where the nutty midwife cuts the umbilical cord with chocolate-covered rusty pliers?
home births? human babies? gross, they don’t even have tails.
Haha oh man I hope the rat who did the wipe out is ok.
I hate babies!!!
Another Angela, I bet some of them did, before we took out the rusty pliers.
Heeeyyyy!
I sent this in, too! It’s awesome!
Helene I am still laughing about the little tiny ipods for kitties.
Brinn heheh Plague??? Oh my how did we get here form surfing rats???
Oh Rats .. Sorry lost my head there.
mmmmmmm….chocolate-covered rusty pliers….
Geeze a gal goes to lunch and the post just esplodes!
Did someone put some bait out or something? *snickers quietly at self for lame attempt at a joke*
WOW. Just wow.
How did they do that???
The shot at rattie level as he’s in the curl, man… awesome surfing, rodent!
Uhhhh… are you all INSANE!!! These little guys are probably TERRIFIED! This is cruelty to animals, and you should remove this from your site, Meg!
The one where you think he is going to wipe Out(que’s wipe out music) and he comes up hanging on for his dear ratty life is good too.
I agree with Nater… those poor little things must hate it!
Hi Nater how are you today? ::Waves from her california computer to where ever in the world Nater is::
*grabs a surfing rat and throws it out the window*
Well… I have rats. Luv them all (6 right now). If I had a good private beach with nice calm waves — and didn’t break out from too much sunscrean and sand — I’d prolly try them surfing too. Each rat has its own personality, and its own likes & dislikes. So I would try each one, and if they liked it, great. If not, then back to ratty beach towel under the ratty umbrella, sipping carrot juice.
I liked the last little dude hopping off the board. My guess is he went back for more… after some carrot juice.
Silly people, though. These are definately not mice.
I feel so bad for the poor rats! When I had them they hated just getting a little water on themselves…this must have been torture. People should stop trying to pretend their pets are humans and respect their fears.
Not trying to cause an argument, but … I didn’t think this was cute. I thought it was cruel. What happened to the rat who wiped out when he was too far just to walk to the shore? Was he OK?
I agree with the person who commented that this would not be OK if it were kittens, and it’s not OK with rats.
Miranda and Katie, thanks for making my day!
my jaw has been on the floor for the last 2 minutes. how…how…? well, rats do have amazing ballance (and sort of a built-in rudder).
does anyone have any advice about getting rats interested in swimming at a young age? all my rats have HATED water, which made it really miserable for them when they got older and unable to groom and needed to be bathed.
as for surfing rats, i definitely think that it just depends on the rat; some might enjoy it, others might hate it. mine would probably have stayed on the board just to avoid swimming. hopefully these ratties have sensitive owners who can tell the difference.
Apparently they not only surf they jet ski and yacht.
http://www.russianlook.ru/eng/list_eng.aspx?type=news&id=120&page=0
They have a myspace page
http://www.myspace.com/radicalrodents
They are mice not ratties and they live in Queensland surfing in rivers and estuaries using the waves generated by passing boats. They will probably retire soon as they are getting up in age.
Anner, don’t your rats like pea-fishing? Mine like to dip into water on their own, but they wouldn’t like this. Or a bath.
Helene, methinks you may have huffed too many kittens today.
Amazing. I’m sure if someone had enough talent and knew their rats well enough to teach them how to surfboard they’ve figured out which ones enjoy it and how to keep them safe.
I just think it’s amazing what animals will enjoy. My cat enjoys being spun around in a laundry basket until he’s too dizzy to stand. I remember seeing a flying fox (giant bat) at the zoo using a rope to create its own upside-down swingset.
So surfing ratties? Definately awesome. Those little guys are incredibly cute.
I could be wrong but it looks like they had at least two “spotters” and the water was shallow, yes shallow for humans BUT they were not alone at any time, their humans were right there to scoop them up to safety.
I had a pet rat “Koolaid” once who had a very strong personality. If these guys are anything like she was, well their owners wouldn’t be putting them on surf boards and playing in the water with them if they didn’t like it.
(Meaning if they didn’t like it the owners would be wearing some bandages for sure)
The few shots they show of them leaving the surf boards or walking to shore, note they are walking, not running. (Yes the one did hop/jump off the one board but I think only because there was a bit of a wave in its way as it was exiting so it jumped over it.)
If Koolaid didn’t want to go into her cage, good luck catching her. Same with these guys I’d be willing to bet. If they didn’t want to ride, good luck catching them.
Anyone read that yet? It says they’ve been surfing for 3 YEARS. Dontcha think they’d have made a run for it by now if they were terrified? They’re in an open environment where I’m sure they could quite likely escape their owners.
i dunno- rats have been hanging out on boats for- well forever- and i’m pretty sure there were scenes like this every time a pirate ship got blown up- and rats can be taught to do almost anything- it’s their greatest strength- so i think i need more infomation before i make a judgement on this- like is this something they worked up to? did they start with a sink or bathtub and work their way up to the ocean? in that case the animals might be used to it. the video doesn’t really say. hmmm
“*grabs a surfing rat and throws it out the window*”
HAHAHAHAHAHAHHAhahaahaaaaaaahahaahahahhahaha…
…..ahahahahahhhhaahaaha!!!!! YES!!!
ahem. don’t forget the red helmet.
oh you should check the Russian site for all the little mouse accoutrement’s that their owner made them.
It wouldn’t be OK for kittens because they’re baby cats. Most can’t swim at all. Rats on the other hand are naturally great swimmers.
Apparently they’re great surfers too, dammit.
Hamsters are good at hang gliding.
I sent this to my sister who lives in Hawaii. She didn’t think it was cute. They have a canal running behind their property & I guess between the tropical climate and the water source they’ve seen at least a rat a day around their house. I don’t mean to offend the rattie lovers, but I would be grossed out too if they were around MY house.
It would be best if the waves were bigger for the little kittens. There are some free kittens being advertised near my house. hmmm. I bet some would like it.
Free kittens? Must… huff… more…
Kittens are only into experimental drugs and raves.
That is so totally AWESOME!
Those rats stay on their boards better than a lot of people, too. Better than I could ever do, that’s for sure (I can’t even balance on a skateboard). XD
threadjack/ pssstttt…..Cuteologist’s…..do you have any plans for Labor Day weekend? You might wanna sneak peek at what Meg & I and Amy & Lurker & Lauowolf & serenopoly & Aubrey and……well, it hasn’t been officially posted yet, but…..http://musicchick2.vox.com/library/post/i-left-mah-heeeaaarrrtttin-san-francisco.html
They. Have. Their. Own. Beach. Hut.
Oh my god, check out the other pictures. That is a dude that loves his mice and has a whole lot of free time and some mad craft skills.
I also have a rat named Bunsen, weird.
I have had many pet rats, none of them ever liked water. At first I was kind of amazed by this, but the more I think about it the worse I feel, those ratties are probably terrified.
I hate rats, but I think putting your pets into the surf is only fun for the people, not the pets. One of those guys wiped out pretty seriously. Glad they could swim, but not happy with all the teasage of animals in CO.
Wow. okay they are mice and if you haven’t gone to their web site posted above you should. It is Rad.. (sorry couldn’t resist)
The owner spent a lot of time training them and working with them. THey started in the sink at home etc. Warnings to not try this with your pets etc.
I didn’t go see all teh ratty oh I mean Mousy acoutraments but Would have loved these when we had Templeton(the first Rat we had) as we were always making things for her.
Eh, used to see that at NY beaches all the time. Except they were just rats on wood in the water. Really cute video though.
Helene needs to go to the corner for a minute and get some calm time, methinks.
Where is the controversy?
Hey everyone! I know a lady who had her baby in a parking lot, wrapped it in a blanket, and then drove home!
I would have drove home without the baby!
I know these meese have a website, but I don’t believe everything I read on websites, especially ones on surfing mice. I’m glad they have a tiki hut, but they might need therapy too.
Roger, did she cut the ombilical cord with rusty pliers?
*huffs*
http://images.wikia.com/uncyclopedia/images/d/dc/Kittenhuffing.gif
He didn’t say she took the baby with her.
*trying to envision a tiny therapy couch inside the tiki hut* Nope not working all I’m getting is chocolate covered rusty pliers. How long you gonna carry those around Helene?
musicchick2 – aaaaagh! why must it be the weekend of my brother’s wedding??? (which, incidentally will bring me to the west coast for the first time in 14 years). zomgponies!!1!, you guys are going to have a blast!
A) they’re rats and B) I bet they hated every second of it. Trying to bathe a rat (when they need it), no matter how tame an nice they are, is quite the ordeal. Kind of a stupid stunt methink.
That is so cute! I love the introductions, too. For some reason I sang their names in my head to the tune of MST3k – made it even more adorable!
The danger of drowning is a little high, though, no? I mean, as carefully as those people may be watching them, I’m sure it’d be pretty hard to find those little guys once they went under. Maybe a little irresponsible just for the cute – as extreme as that cute may be.
Hm, I keep seeing people saying their mice/rats didn’t like the water, but my little mice love to go for a swim in the bathtub. We fill it up so only part of it has water, and they go into the water all on their own. Those definitely aren’t mice in the video though, I’ve had rats before and mice are much teenier.
I gave birth to a rat in a parking lot once. I wrapped it in a blanket then taught it to surf.
Rats and mice swim better than humans do. No need to worry about them going into the drink.
I dunno, she probably used a greasy crowbar or something you’d find in an old van.
another angela needs to take a lil chill pill and sit alone for a while.
goodness girl – this is just for fun, we dont have to get our panties all in a wad about Rat rights! HA !
Puddin’ puddin’ puddin’ pleaaaase. I thought it was very cute. And they seemed to like it – I think…I’m sure their owners have had them long enough to tell the difference. And I agree mice/rats are incredibly fast – they would run awaayyy if they were scared.
butterscotch anyone? I’m getting rice or maybe one of those vanilla and chocolates with the cool whip in them….
Pudding AND Cool Whip. I can’t take it. I has to get me somes………
thats funny LisaN I wrote that while you wrote yours…
hahaha – great minds think alike.
I came late the party – i was getting my teeth cleaned – i prolly shouldn’t have puddin’
but I can stillllll THROW it muwahhahahahha
LOL Mello!
Meanwhile, it seems unlikely someone spent years teaching rats to surf and lots of cash on surfboards, tiki huts, etc. just to get a cute video out of it. It probably progressed from a water-loving pet rat, gradually into surfing.
I kept looking for the little rat life vests, which would have made it way cuter… it was still cute.
I’m pretty sure I read somewhere that this is a fresh water lake and the “surf” is created by passing jetski’s and boats, and thus the rat-sizedness of the waves.
I have rats – I don’t think I could get them to surf, tho.
Little surfer little one
Made my heart come all undone
Do you love me, do you surfer mouse
Surfer mouse my little surfer mouse
Standing on your board like that
Made my heart go pitter pat
DP you love me do you surfer mouse surfer mouse surfer mouse.
With Appologies to the beach boys.;)
I agree little life vests would be the epitome of rodent cuteness.
You guys go read the little mousies web page they are mousies and it just looks like ratties because of the camera angles here is the two links again so you don’t have to go find them the The MySpace Page has their story http://www.myspace.com/radicalrodents
And this one has a lot of Photos and stuff.
http://www.russianlook.ru/eng/list_eng.aspx?type=news&id=120&page=0
Annie, that bit reminds me of the cover of Teen Angel I heard. I think it was Deathcab for Cutie who did it.
Why, dear heavens, why would someone do this to an innocent rodent?
Not cute. Animals are not objects. Get a toy or something else to play with that’s not alive. Anti-”nuff”ers, how boring if everyone worshipped every post, right?
At the risk of raising the ire of my fellow cuteoverload lovers, as I have done before, I’d like to say that causing much distress to animals is decidedly NOT cute.
Ban animal abuse on cuteoverload please!!!
Liz — wrong
Jane — because it’s better than letting them rot in a little fishtank with a wire wheel
Anybody else who feels like complaining — I fart in your general direction
I like the comment on their MySpace page: “Mousabunga!”
And yes, they’re mice, not rats, the site says.
OMG — did you see how they naturally know to ride the back of the board???
Theo, on what point is Liz wrong? Are you saying animals ARE objects?
I still dig how people are more upset by people complaining about the possibility of animals being tormented than about the actual possibility of animals being tormented. Although this particular situation doesn’t seem too bad; rats are decent swimmers, and it was reassuring to see they had “spotters”. They may/may not have liked it much, but I don’t think they were exactly in mortal peril.
Megan,
They probably didn’t “naturally” know to ride the back of the board. They probably learned it in agonizing trial-and-error efforts, with limbs being torn off and spurting blood in a gruesome scene that would make “Saw” look like “Stuart Little.”
The MySpace site says they have four mice that do this. It didn’t mention that they started with 42.
Pudding flinger
Is one of them paddling with a little paw? So effing cute. They look kind of thrilled to me.
R. Moore This was an original (I hope I have my facts straight) by the Beach boys. The first verse I changed from surfer girl to surfer mouse.
I rewrote the second verse to fit our mousie surfers that is why I said with appologies to the beach boys.
And when I first read your post I was thinking I know no “death cab for Cutie” but when I went to their web site I found that i did. and I happen to like their stylings.
I think Theo pretty much nailed it here. While rats may or may not be terrific swimmers, may or may not get quite as much of a kick out of the surfing as their humans did, and may or may not own a pair of rusty pliers, a day at the beach is going to be infinitely healthier than a day in a tank, which is the home of most ‘rat-lovers’ pets.
My rusty pliers are catching on!!
As Dave Barry would say, “Rusty Pliers” would be a good name for a rock band.
And they’re MICE, dammit, MICE, NOT RATS! The site says so!
*huff huff* Damn a***-retentive journalistic background.
Heh, most people seem to not know they like Death Cab for Cutie
Random side not: My first concert was a Beach Boys concert. I must have been eight or so at the time.
Ah, R. Moore, but did you know “Death Cab for Cutie” was originally a song by The Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band? That’s where the band got its name.
The Bonzos included Neil Innes, a close associate of Monty Python.
I don’t think the rats mind. My rat did NOT like water, and he would bloody well let you know about it. They seem pretty chill
The Bonzo’s “Death Cab” lyrics:
http://www.songmeanings.net/lyric.php?lid=3530822107858594654
OMFREAKINHECK where have *I* been all day? There are my peeps setting up all these opportunities for me and I am off doing the laundry and schlepping my children all over town!
First of all, when I had one of my sons, the crazy midwife looks at my cutebabydaddy and says, would you like to cut the umbilical cord? And his reply: Shouldn’t someone more qualified do that?
So here is a baby for all you hatahs, with her Daddy. Enjoy the look on his face of unabashed love, mixed with what have I done?
http://cutebabyfix.com/2007/06/22/new-daddy/
And these mice are awesome, all you Nuffers are just jealous that you didn’t think of it first. And peeps? The puddin thing is starting to feel like Groundhog Day, I think we need a new schtick…
Liz et al nuffs – And CuteOverload would be so everso exciting if EVERY picture was a kitty or puppy or whatever sitting perfectly still, not being touched or squished in any way, preferably surrounded by soft material and do nothing whatsoever that resembles fun. Because, you know, mice don’t have any individual personalities so there is NO WAY these mices like this. At all. Like humans. We’re all the same too. I mean, we should treat them like equals, right? So… no fun. No testing to see if they enjoy anything. Nope. Please pass me the butterscotch and a cold chard. Mmmm, so gouche.
*Sigh* I knew that post was too long to be perfect.
See: Mmmm, so gauche.
What the hell?
Fran: I have a hard time reconciling your name with your comment, as when I see the name “Fran” I think of a very sweet older lady I used to work with who never swore and had about 12 grandkids. And a butterfly tattoo.
CBF: I will never forgive my family for cutting my baby brother’s cord while I put up the big “WELCOME BABY” sign up on the garage door. I was highly put off
Also, I have a friend who not only wants to homebirth, but do it without a midwife. Then again, she wants to BE a midwife, so she would be slightly more qualified. I’, a bit more cautious. While I don;t trust my local hospitals (one of them has doctors refuse to practice there because of malpractice suits!), I would at least have some sort of prof. help.
Also, I wondered where the band name came from… I bet my younger sister knows.
Beep Beep!!
Hi Helene.
Fair enough, love it or STFU. Diversity of opinion is bad and how dare anyone be concerned and spoil your fun. I’ll leave it to the CO Borg. Later haters.
Two of my favorite things have been combined at last: Cute Overload and surf rock!
For what it’s worth, I have a dear friend who’s owned and raised virtually every kind of animal (from mice to draft horses), at one time had over 70 birds, etc. I’ve often said I would like to be reincarnated as one of her pets. And she has told me many times of the mice she had in college, one of whom loved to ride around on top of her Shredded Wheat (the big kind, not the bite-sized ones) in her bowl of milk! So there’s one more story about a rodent who, um, liked to surf, in a way, kinda sorta.
And I don’t think my friend ate the shredded wheat after the mousie was riding on it.
If you didn’t like something but you got a treat for being brave you’d probably do it again if another treat was involved. Slowly you’d learn that what you were afraid of isn’t so bad and so you start doing it on your own. Awww gee, welcome to something called disassociation training. They do it to horses all the time so that they will jump over puddles of water in show jumping. Also, I’m sure Rover didn’t really want to learn to sit originally either but guess what…no one says anything about that.
These rats look perfectly content surfing in what looks like a small pond or lake.
*drinks her tea and passes around cupcakes*
I love this video. I was a little taken aback at first as like I said above we had rats and they didn’t like water but when I finally went to the web site and read what the mouse owner had to say I was suprised and delighted to find out that they actually enjoy this. they were slowly introduced to it. not just taken to the ocean and thrown in. they were trained to swim and how to balance on the boards. They are at lakes and rivers not the ocean where the waves are much more controled and constantly supervised.
Thank you Meg for sharing some of the unusual stuff out there. I also enjoy reading everyones comments Pro and Con. It is fun to learn new things and get new perspectives. I don’t always agree with everyone but I appreciate when people knowledgably comment on the posts.(even if I don’t agree)
“Beep Beep!!
Hi Helene.”
Heylerhe!
Liz: Resistance is futile. You will be assilimat…assma…asmil….Oh look! Somthing shiny!
Ahhh! We are the CO Borg, that makes total sense. That is why it’s all sounding like Groundhog day, we are losing the ability to think for ourselves! Personally, I think Helene is using some kind of mind control device that hypnotizes everyone, and the code word is “Rusty Pliers.” I am not affected obviously, but I’m betting everyone else feels compelled to lol and post something every time she types this….
THATS SOOOO MEAN!
Poor little wet, scared critters.
Okay, they are NOT RATS. They are mice. Rats do not come in black and tan, nor long haired fawn broken marked, for a start. The first mouse we see surfing does look a bit like a rat, but seriously. THEY ARE NOT RATS. I am sorry for the capslocks, but darn it, this is the third place I’ve seen this and everyone insisting they’re rats, and it is starting to irk me!
Anner – I sowwy!!
Wow! I am a rodent lover and it never entered my mind that this was cruel or unfunny! I only wished my Ratalie Hood was still alive to hang 16 or 20-whatever, dudes!!! Ratalie was the BOLD one who was always ready for a new adventure. She’d have loved this!!! I do not think CO would put on anything cruel-I think the peeps know enough about animals to know cruel from cute. And they know you cannot get free roaming rodents to do stuff like this if they don’t want to!!! They can run faster than we can!!! If the surf-mice-teachers were really cruel, they’d have kittehs rounding the mice up on the beach and they would film it too. All I’m trying to say is I know some rodents would love this, and some wouldn’t!!! And-everyone has the right to worry, and express their opinion and not be called names. Speaking of names…..I am “The Chipnotizer” and have some outdoor chippehs, a pond and …well…. I’d be really careful which chippehs I’d try this with though!!! Ever see a rodent clamped onto someone’s finger who’d done something cruel or scared the rodent??? Loved you ALL and keep sending in great stuff!!! Gotta go whittle a surfboard now….Snorgle on dudes & dudettes!! Ponds’ up!!!!
OK Peeps!! Just to make sure, I watched the surf video again!! I love eet!!! Love the music, the sunshine and the prosh little mousies NOT in a tank. I also took extreme note of teacher’s fingers!! No scared mousies clamped on, no blood spurting from teacher’s fingers-just mousies hangin’ out-free to run away into the woods if desired. There. I’ve answered myself!! Feel free to disagree!! Gonna go look at some pics of Ratalie Hood now, who’s buried in a garden amongst the iris. Miss her. Squeeeeekkkkkk!
Am I the only one who has ever seen a rat go swimming for fun? Also, I HAVE seen rats come in black and tan (they were severely inbred and destined to become lunch for a python, but hey). In any case, I believe them when they say these are mice, because there are lots of different kinds of mice and rats out there and I’m sure the owner is better informed about them than me.
All that being said, I am incredibly jealous that those rodents can surf and I’ve never so much as tried.
That. is. awesome.
MegW: Speaking of lunch-for-a-python-I once paid for all the rats in a pet store so they wouldn’t be sold to a dude who wanted to feed his python. I had just made friends with all of them!!! The owner apparently rethought her idea of the worth of a rat as she told the guy she had no rats available and would not have any for “feeders” in the future. And-she didn’t. I thought snake owners should catch their own snake food (because it’s LIVE) or better yet-raise their own rats and find out they make much better pets than pythons!!! Just my opinion….
Can everyone stop debated whether or not rats like swimming? It is totally irrelevant because these are mice.
Mice – not rats. And again…
MICE!!!!
NOT RATS!!!
Check out this link: http://www.russianlook.ru/eng/list_eng.aspx?type=news&id=120&page=0
Clearly mice and NOT RATS!
Brings whole new meaning to drowned rats!
What about the naked tails? Never spotted mice with tails like this….
Evern If the page say mice….
My sister alway tells everyone her little darlings are a special kind of mice – naked- tail mongolian mice- so the neighbours wont start complainig about rats in her appartment!
Yeah, seen this before. STILL think it’s cruel.
Adorable Ratskis doing a bitchin’ job of surfing.
OOOOPS I mean Mousers…..
Sheesh – my comp apparently looks like a robot spammer this morning – for the first time ever I am having to verify every comment. Somebody give the server (or whatever, I’m a computer dope) a big ole cuppa joe to wake it up.
I have to admit, this made me very nervous while I was watching it. But then I used to get nervous throwing bumpers into a lake for golden retrievers to fetch, so I think it’s my own paranoid issue. No need to fart this way, Theo. It appears that these little guys are enjoying themselves, that their owners are caring and watchful, and I refuse to think anything other than that.
Dude. Chip. Snakes gotta eat, too, man! Why no love for snakes?
Hate to harsh the buzz, but most of those “feeder” mice at the store almost certainly came from small business owners like my Dad, who started breeding rats and mice to feed his own snakes, and rapidly discovered that they bred much faster than snakes eat. So he sold them back to pet stores. They were, in essence, meant to be snake food from their time of their birth. That somebody keeps them as pets occasionally is great for the individual rat–I have fond memories of my Squeaky!–but the vast majority of those pet-store rats are meant for a snake’s gullet. Most pet stores order their rats from breeders by size, to accommodate specific reptilian appetites.
Yes, rats are cute and lovable and make great pets, but snakes gotta eat, and it’s not as if you can make ‘em go vegan.
You seem to be losing a little of your tact lately Theo :-/
However the video is incredibly sweet, although it does make me cringe slightly when a huge wave engulfes the poor little critters. But so long as they are having fun and arn’t hurt!
Just excellent..I nearly fell off the couch and peed my pants watching this.
being a mouse lover-i checked out the russian site.
Definetly MICE not ratz…
my little ms mole’ has a naked tail-though chocolate colored,but naked-just like a rats..
all in all,Very Mice!!
Man I want a beach house like the surfing mice. If I can’t have that I want their yacht in my size. Did you see the “no haoles” sign on the bar. The attention to detail is the best. My fave shot is the shot where someone’s hand is hovering just to the side in case Curley needs help. No you don’t see that in the video. but they probably edited it to include the best of the rides and not the wipe outs.
I’m going to have Beach Boy music going through my head all day now.
Oh dear, why do I get the feeling that someone’s going to try to alert PETA?
I’m afraid to look at the comments on YouTube.
Can you say “Animal Abuse!!!”
My rats would habve been terrified.
I am involved in rat rescue. Not only would I never allow this to be done to my animals but I would never adopt out animals to someone who would do something like this.
I can only hope that the owners of the rats were not thinking and this insensitive act of cruelty is an isolated incident.
Poor little ratties.
Please research about rats and their care.
I hope the rats receive better care in the future.
Uh –Yeah, holly – Adopt out to people who spend no time w/ them, and keep them in a cage, and never let them go outside –That’s MUCH more natural for the poor lil’ rodents, huh?
Dude………MOST EXCELLENT!
Catch a wave man!!!
Hee @ Holly. Trying to start a rumble in the jungle are you? If ever I believed in the existence of faux nuffs, it’s now. Right? You’re just being jovially confrontational, but you don’t really mean it?
*runs for cover from the ‘they’re MICE not RATS’ crowd*
So, MaliceAlice and RUkiddingme?, anyone who isn’t okay with mice/rats being conditioned to “enjoy” life on a wavy lake are automatically keeping them in little glass cages with wire wheels and no out-time, right? Right. Makes so much sense. Life has no gray area, you know.
O.O Damn, that is SO MEAN! They could at least have kept them on littler waves.
Not at all. I’m just irked by the belief that these mice are being ‘conditioned’ to like surfing. I mean, I do think it’s a little dangerous to let your rats and mice outside their cage, but if they are independent enough to run free around a house, I think they have enough personality to enjoy something mice do in every sewer. But I’ve never owned rats or mice myself, so I could be talking out of my ass. Although my sisters mice did seem to enjoy sitting in their cage all day, eating and running on that wheel.
Listen PEEPs, if we all pull together and work at it (I KNow its saturday night, but I have no life) we can get a …
…
Bi Centi Bleen!!!
but if anyone asks you…
http://mfrost.typepad.com/cute_overload/2007/06/so_what_did_you.html
I guess no ones working on it…oh welllssss
Gee, Theo, farting at people that are not completely uncritical seeing a video like that? bad style.
Zosterops — it was Friday night after a very long, extremely difficult week. I was in no mood for @$$holery. I *could* have simply deleted the comments & locked the thread, y’know.
[poot]
I’m putting this vid upon my mental mantelshelf alongside the vid of Winston eating mashed potates. They are in a superior category of their own. Fantastic. Very special.
If the mice didn’t like it, they wouldn’t be on the boards, and like one guy said, getting the to stay on the board would be damn near impossible. Especially AFTER they tried it and didn’t like it
There are LOADS of rats and mice that like swimming. One of mine liked being bathed. To say their are terrified, its cruel, etc is speculation and judgemental. Go to the guys website, and do some research THERE – if I knew someone who ran a rodent rescue, but didn’t know rats are natural swimmers, and can enjoy swimming and water, I’d question that persons credentials pretty heavily.
Animals are all individual and unique – some like swimming, some don’t. Some like wheels, some don’t. Some like hammocks, some like tubes and some just sleep at the bottom of the cage in the shavings no matter how much money you spend on fancy beds and hammocks…
Brian speaks the truth! And on the matter of rodents not liking water. I currently own rats, but before supersizing and going all out on rodents, I had many mice. One of which would launch himself into the tub with me at any damn oppurtunity. He would then check things out, paddle around, crawl on me, and generally befoul my lovely bathwater with his pint-sized mousie enthusiasm. While this is fairly placid, I have a Rat who likes nothing better then to be thrown up into the air.. VERY high, to land on pillows. Then he runs back for more and pesters me until I do it again. The little maniac. So its clearly a matter of rodent personality as to what they will or will not enjoy.
You sad, sad little dweebs.
I hate to be a nuffer, but in this case, I feel it’s appropriate:
(
Danger > Cuteness =
Theo, it’s not as*ho*ery to love animals and not want them to be traumatized. We know you love your kittens. Would you enjoy seeing kittens on surfboards like this? Well? And if not, why not? I think it’s good for people to be sensitive to animal suffering. Discussion is good. I never said this shouldn’t be on CO. I just think people that think it might be a wee bit stressful to the critters could have a valid point. Can that not be respected on CO?
I was glad to read the comments that said that the rodents were alright, and that they’d been doing it for years/enjoyed it, but I guess I’m more worried about all the fool kids out there who will try this with their own pets and maybe hurt or scare them as a result
No Angela it is as*ho*ery to make assumptions. A very quick simple google search brought up the websites I posted. We all love animals that is why we are here. I know Theo volunteers for a local animal shelter.
What we are seeing are mice that have been trained and seem to enjoy it. They do not seem to be in distress. I know I might be nuffed to death for saying so but a few mice surfing is small bleens…err beans next to unwanted animals dying in shelters and all the other horrific ways in which animals are used as guinea pigs. However it is easy to nuff in a relatively anonymous online forum than to stand up and do something about the real animal cruelty that exists all over this world.
Well right now mah bebeh puppeh is giving me the mom too much puter not enough Sarah time. So I gotta step off mah soap box and go give pettins. oooo just got the sigh. see ya
So, I’m an asshole for being a rodent lover and experienced keeper of rodents and biologist who thinks these mice might rather not be surfing? And if we are talking assumptions, it’s a pretty big assumption to believe what you read on websites about spending your days training mice to surf. I was concerned, like Rosie, that others may try this, in not so humane ways. I hear stories through my rat network every day of far worse. I agree this is not a huge deal compared to other suffering, but it’s not about comparison. It’s about treating animals with respect and dignity and not as toys for our entertainment. It’s a spectrum and this falls on it. Other things like declawing enrage people here, but it’s better than killing cats, right?
sorry to be such a nuff, but I don’t like seeing animals frightened to entertain people in ANY way.
Yeah, I think Meg should really remove this post, it’s not good, it’s cruel! Who is with me? Speak up!
BTW… Waves to Annie!
Annie— I’m also in California! Enjoying the sun.
Another Angela — I don’t think anyone’s attacking you personally. But ease off a bit, OK? Yes, there’s a spectrum, yes it’s all a matter of degrees, and this vid is way down at the low end of the stress scale.
Well… maybe it’s not for some of the folks watching it, but at least the *mice* aren’t wigging out.
Eyes of the beholder.
Theo, sorry if I sounded strident in my comments, but it’s just one of those things that comes off differently over the computer. I’m a very reasonable friendly person and try to convey that the best I can, through either humor or tolerance to other commenters. You seemed to be referring to anyone who didn’t find this cute to be an asshole, which wasn’t too friendly or tolerant and which tends to inflame commentroversies rather than chill people out. I never said this was a horrible or cruel post–just that the rodents probably are not enjoying it and it’s probably not something other people should try at home. So few people stand up for rodents. They can use a cheerleader or two, even on CO. cheers!!!
I have had fancy rats for many years, and I can safely say they love water, and the beacj. mY two big boys had rat leashes, and I would regularly take them for walks n the sand, and when they realised there was water there, OH BOY! Its not safe to take fancy rats into stagnant water, at least in the UK, as there is a disease called Wiels which is carried on wild rat urine, and humans can get it too, so don’tput your babies in lakes and ponds. Bu the ocean, go for it!
They can’t have been surfing for 3 years, the average lifespan of a rat is 2 – 2 and a half so a three year old rat would be too old and delicate to surf!
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