All-New Book of Amazing Facts, Vol. 2

10 The grasshopper mouse, a desert rodent found in the American Southwest, looks innocent enough with its grey-brown coat and oversized ears. But it’s really more like a wolf in mouse’s clothing. As a predator, the grasshopper mouse is territorial, defending its range of up to 25 acres. Its name comes not from its ability to hop but because it eats a lot of grasshoppers. This little carnivore also consumes other bugs, lizards, and mice. Immune to many forms of venom, the grasshopper mouse even attacks and eats scorpions, centipedes, spiders, and small snakes. When stung or bitten during a battle, this mouse seems to survive by transforming the venom into a painkiller. Another wolf-like trait of the grasshopper mouse is its habit of standing up on its hind legs, throwing back its head, and howling. The long, high-pitched whistle sounds eerie and is thought to be a victory cry after a kill or a warning to other mice. Grasshopper mice also have a reputation for taking over the burrows of other mammals, and they’re capable of emitting an odor similar to a skunk. So much for a cute little mouse! The Bible says that in the last days there will be many professed Christians who act like devils. “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence. …Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness” (Matthew 23:25, 27, 28). Grasshopper Mouse Wolf of the Desert Animals & Biology