The Arcadian purlieus of Chiswick House are a Garden of Eden post-Fall. Rats are commonplace and now I have seen red-eared terrapins or, as our friends across the pond call them, red-eared sliders.
They are native to the southern United States and north Mexico and have two claims to notoriety: they are on a list of “the world’s worst invasive alien species”; they are a popular pet often released into the wild. Importing these pesky pests is banned by the EU, so if you live in the UK order one now for Christmas. These terrapins aren’t just for Christmas; in the wild they live for 20 – 30 years. They do something my brother has been doing for years. They don’t hibernate, they brumate.
Brumation is a state or condition of sluggishness, inactivity, or torpor exhibited by reptiles during winter or extended periods of low temperature. This subterranean torpor is not a true hibernation but a cold-blooded version of slowing down called brumation.
Why are they such a pest? I don’t know. Perhaps they kill young wildfowl? On the other hand they may be partial to a baby rat or two.