It's been awhile since we've checked in on the small mammal beat, but that doesn't mean our furry little friends have stopped making headlines. In fact, I have in a short period of time managed to amass no fewer than SEVEN such stories, which I present to you now:

1. Hamster and Snake: Best Buddies (the real question here, I think, is what the hell kind of "zoo" uses a cardboard box as a habitat?)
2. "Raccoon tastes like raccoon," English said. "I've never heard of any elected official or politician who didn't like coon."
3. Raccoon Attacks Woman In D.C. "It's highly unusual ... we occasionally have reports of attacks by de sharks or de orcas or de jellyfish, but you just don't expect to encounter a raccoon in D.C." OK, I realize this joke doesn't make as much sense when written down, but just read it out loud to yourself and then bask in the hilarity of it all. Bask, I say.
4. Luminita Marinas, who sells crystals, incense and angelic bric-a-brac at her gift shop on Nine Mile in Eastpointe, first ran afoul of city officials about four years ago for feeding squirrels.
5. Vagn Flyger, 83, a retired wildlife biologist at the University of Maryland who became a leading authority on squirrels after documenting what was dubbed the "Great Squirrel Migration of 1968,'' died Monday at his home in Silver Spring, Md.
6. I don't know that this really counts as news anymore, but sadly my favorite of all the small mammals, the wonderful pika, continues on the path toward extinction.
7. On a brighter note, though, the similarly endangered Vancouver Island marmots are apparantly rebounding a little bit, thanks in part to the efforts of the marmot shepherds. I think it goes without saying, but if anyone hears tell that a posse of pika shepherds is being rounded up, I should be contacted immediately via our tipline and rounded.