Watch: This long, slithering animal in the garden is not a snake. Look closely
It’s a train of little shrews who have latched on to each other like children do when they form a human train for fun.
At first glance, it looks like a snake, slithering through the grass. But follow it closely, and you realise that it’s a little train of something that looks like mice. For a second, your mind jumps to the infamous cult horror film Human Centipede and you shudder.
Then you realise it’s just a harmless shrew “caravan”.
Shrews, or chachundar as they’re called in India, are small mammals that resemble mice. Their offsprings have a particularly unique characteristic – whenever the shrews are disturbed in their nest, the little ones latch on to their mother, hanging on to her tail and the preceding siblings’ tail, with flexible snouts.
They follow her in a “caravan” in this fashion, forming a long train. This not only helps young shrews when their nest is disturbed, but also encourages them to explore their environment.