Some animals have proven unsuited to life on Stomgrog. For instance in
the seventies a pigeon fancier by the name of Burt Pyke reported that none
of his homing pigeons had returned from a race in which he'd released several
dozen. Later that week a light aircraft pilot stated that he had seen approximately
the same amount of pigeons fifty miles north circling in a tight circle
over the sea. It transposed that it was exactly the same longitude and latitude
of Burt's pigeon loft on the day that the birds had been removed from their
coops for the race.
Another natural idiosyncracy unique to Stomgrog is the Tool Squirrel.
Charles Darwin noted in 'The Origin of the Species'
that "Here is another example of a breed that although adaptable
and more intelligent than others in its species, it will never dominate
purely due to it's comparitive lack of size.' In the nineteenth century,
the Tool Squirrel was popularly used in Squirrel Circuses, where they were
dressed in tiny outfits and taught simple tricks. The Tool Squirrel is only
a recent name for this species (formally Known as the Small Grey). The breed
was renamed after the Animal Behaviourist Rod Dentricks researched them
in the late sixties. He trained several Squirrels to use small implements
that aided whatever tasks the Squirrels would naturally use paws or teeth
for. Once the Squirrels were introduced to the labour saving devices it
was discovered that they chose to use tools of their own volition and without
food inducements or rewards. Dentricks then released the Squirrels back
into the wild with an excess supply of the miniature tools. It was then
noted that all the descendants of the trained squirrels also learnt to use
the tools and that as old tools wore out or broke, the squirrels would attempt
to make new ones. Over the years these creatures seem to have become much
shyer and secretive and bolt at the slightest indication, so sightings of
these industrious little creatures are an infrequent event.
