Strawberry lifts his head and locks eyes with the tall stranger. Although there is wire mesh between Strawberry and the shadowy figure standing before him, he is cautious. He doesn’t dare blink, his bright pink eyes fixed on the dark eyes of the potential intruder. Strawberry secretly signals to Peanut and she scampers up the ramp to the safety of the loft. Once he is confident that Peanut is safe, Strawberry lifts his nose up into the air, trying to gather all the information he can. Is this stranger a friend or is he a foe? Is he the bearer of consumable gifts or the bearer of unimaginable rifts? Sniff. Sniff. Sniff. Their eyes are still locked together. Underneath Strawberry’s considerable bulk his legs are tight coils of energy ready to propel him up the ramp or to fight if necessary. All the while, the only movement in the yard is Strawberry’s two full cheeks wriggling to the constant rhythm of his jaws. If he goes down in battle today, he will go down with a full belly.
I’ve heard it said that, “Where ever the grass grows, the Guinea Pig goes.” On the other hand, something that has never been said is, “I think I’ll save some for later, like a Guinea Pig.” Nor would you say of someone trying to lose weight that they are eating like a Guinea Pig. The Sea Captain described Homer Simpson as a “remorseless eating machine.” Homer’s animal spirit would definitely be the four legged “lawn mowing machine”, the Guinea Pig. If a dog’s superpower is its acute sense of smell, and a bat’s super power is sonar that enables it to hunt in the dark, then a Guinea Pig’s superpower is its ability to keep on eating, and eating, and eating.
One of our big pigs, Peaches, gave birth to two fluffy little piglets recently, Eskimo and Oreo. On the day they were born, the very first day, only hours after entering the world, Eskimo and Oreo were chewing on grass. They could walk, squeak and eat grass almost the instant they were born. When we pick them up they employ all three skills. They will run away while calling out to their Mum, eating as soon as they reach cover. Once caught, they will stay in your hands for as long as there is food available. The whole running and hiding charade is quickly forgotten once food is on offer. Our clever little Guinea Pigs know when it’s worth the effort to run away and when to simply accept their fate and eat. They are very heavy savvy cavies!
