Couple keeps rodents as pets
Couple keeps rodents as pets
BAINOA, Cuba (AP) — Some people keep guinea pigs or hamsters as pets.
But in Cuba, where a larger, more exotic rodent runs wild, Ana Pedraza and her husband prefer the hutia.
With a rope-like tail and long front teeth, the hutia looks like a giant rat, only cuter, some would say. They live in Cuba and other Caribbean islands where they are sometimes hunted for food.
But Pedraza and her husband, Rafael Lopez, say they only want to protect and take care of the animals, which measure nearly a foot long (about 30 centimeters), with the largest ones weighing in bigger than a small dog.
The couple began collecting hutias about five years ago when they found one languishing on a roadside and named her Congui. They found her a mate and now have more than a half-dozen hutias in their home about 25 miles (40 kilometers) east of the capital, Havana.
Congui and her brood like to drink sweetened coffee and munch on crackers and vegetables. Her son, Pancho, enjoys an occasional nip of rum.
Groundhog charges at man
HAMPTON, N.H. (AP) — A New Hampshire man says he was working in his garage when a groundhog he saw in his backyard charged at him.
Gary McGrath of Hampton said the groundhog got close, so he pushed him back with his foot Tuesday. But the animal returned. McGrath said he gave him a harder kick and closed the garage door.
But the groundhog sneaked through another opening — and McGrath ended up running to the front door.
His wife called an animal control officer, who got back into his truck for a short time when confronted by the groundhog. The animal was later put down in the yard. It will be tested for rabies.
McGrath said he didn’t know what the groundhog was thinking, “but it was not nice.”