On Hedgehogs and other creatures.

One good thing about working nights in the desert is: all the critters are out and about.

One bad thing about working nights in the desert is: all the critters are out and about.

A few nights ago while surveying a road for our camp my partner and I found ourselves outside of the inner berm of camp. This is actually a nice place to work because nobody drives by you except security and nobody bothers you because usually nobody can find you. It also means that it's easier to find critters because they're not constantly being chased into their holes by traffic or people walking about.

I told the E-3 who works with me that if he ever saw a hedgehog we would catch it because I heard that they eat scorpions (my biggest desert fear). That night, right after I set up my tripod and instrument he calls me over the radio saying "Check it out" so I go running up to the fence only to see a little hedgehog making his way through the concertina wire.

After a few pokes from the wire and a few pokes from the hedgehog we managed to snatch him up and drop him into my hardhat. One of the guys suggested I name him water and when I asked why he replied "because that's what he's gonna leave in your hardhat" so water got his name.

Since we weren't actually planning on doing any work, I stood around holding water for a good few hours while I had my next wildlife encounters. First some wild dogs came by and sniffed the spot right where I found water, leading me to believe I couldn't put him back there for fear of him being eaten (we'd already seen a dead hedgehog the week before). Later after one humvee went to get more fuel and pick up some stuff we'd forgotten, I saw my first camel spider.

The camel spider is gross, and fast, that's all I have to say about them.

Finally as we were getting ready to head in for the night, I put water back down on the ground and let him find his own way in life. Hopefully he is still alive.