Last week we took this photo of the fearsome mole rat –Cryptomys hottentotus–munching away at some tasty weeds. If you haven’t had the pleasure of meeting this large nocturnal rodent, they are about 16 cms, with humongous incisors, and a preference, we discovered, for fresh organically grown vegetables. We first made their acquaintance after our spinach and other vegetables kept disappearing without trace overnight. When we happened to mention this to our friend Rozelle, she told us that she had herself had witnessed metre high plants suddenly shake about and then - fwam! - vanish entirely from sight. This, she helpfully explained, was due to the underground shopping habits of Cryptomys hottentotus who dig tunnels below the vegetables and then grasp a bulb or root and pull it underground where presumably, a communal (and possibly jubilant) feast is had.
Johan was apoplectic, and vowed to outwit the fearsome mole rat. He got to work immediately laying old corrugated iron (the iron is good for the soil) beneath raised vegetable beds constructed from bricks and cement. It took weeks to complete and tied up all available hands. New raised irrigation was laid and finally new vegetable seeds were planted.
There is no doubt that the result was a victory over the fearsome mole rat who has never again gone underground shopping in our veggie garden. However, we must also add that the new garden set up for some reason immediately appealed to scores and scores of guinea fowl, who flocked to eat all the seeds, planted, and once again left our vegetable garden denuded.
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