Meanwhile, they breed copiously in nests made of materials torn from the private possessions of their hosts, wreaking havoc on bedding and furniture. Before long, the cabin undergoes a population explosion of filthy, destructive, combative little beasts that boldly rob their hosts right under their incredulous noses, urinating and defecating in the food supply to boot. And their hosts, being left with no choice, retaliate by setting a lethal gauntlet of spring traps, glue strips and poison bait. Mouse Armageddon ensues, and a pile of tiny bodies accumulates under the window. In considering the self-destructive behavior of mice, human beings silently congratulate themselves on their superior judgment.
Mice are stupid to behave so injudiciously, they think.
If these mice just went easier on us, we might be able to tolerate them. But since they lack the intelligence to see this, we ll simply have to keep trapping and killing them. On the basis of such thoughts, one might almost think that human beings were innately wiser than mice with regard to such matters. But in this, one would be profoundly mistaken. For the only thing that separates the planet earth from that tiny cabin in the woods is size, and the cumulative effect of mankind on the earth is every bit as disgusting, from an ecological viewpoint, as that of mice on a cabin.