>so I figured I could leave a 4 person MH raspberry crumble dessert out for a few hours. Oh not. Came back to camp to find it riddled with holes from a squirrel or chipmunk. I still ate it. While wondering just how much rodent slobber was in there……<
Sarah: Actually you're very lucky, rodent slobber can lead to a very serious condition as I can attest. It has to do with exposure to squirrel saliva or under cooked squirrel meat. Evidently, the very virile digestive biota of the squirrel overwhelm and replace the normal human digestive bacteria.
I will paraphrase the health advisory:
"The effects can be debilitating for the afflicted. They suffer, as do family,friends and coworkers. Social awkwardness is common. Many times the afflicted will suffer what, in legal parlance, is referred to as "a loss of consortium". It is also not altogether uncommon for secondary soft tissue injury to occur as a result of repetitive tensile stress in one or more digits of either hand, particularly among rednecks.
The effects of the bacteria on the squirrel itself are not altogether well known, possibly because few researchers have actually ridden in an enclosed vehicle with a squirrel. The prognosis is not altogether dismal, however, as digestion has been shown to improve for those individuals adhering to a strict diet of white pine nuts."
Upon further reflection, this could also explain the terrible noises witnessed by Craig and Edward in the Sespe. If a squirrel eating jaguar were so afflicted this would explain the contradictory "barking" noises that were heard in conjunction with the feline sounding screams. The only question is: were the terrible noises accompanied by a horrific smell?
