Move Over Chipmunks - Here Come The Surfing Rodents!

Move over Alvin, Theodore and Simon - Here come Rocket, Skidmark, Banzai and Peanut, the surfing mice, who are sweeping the world off their feet, with their skillful maneuvering of ocean wavelets in the waters of Australia's Gold Coast.

The Radical Rodents belong to 39-year old Shane Wilmott, a boat builder who also breeds mice. He trained his first mice to surf when he was just a teenager, after observing the perfect small waves that form at the edge of the ocean.

He recently revived his old hobby and has started to train teams of mice on a regular basis. Thanks to his boat-building skills, all his pets are equipped with custom-made miniature surfboards.

In order to get the mice accustomed to the water and their boards, he begins the surfing lessons in his bathtub. As the mice get better, he moves them to the pool and then finally to the giant ocean, where they take to the water like professionals.

Shane says that contrary to popular belief, mice are actually good swimmers and enjoy the stimulation they receive from surfing waves. In the water, their biggest threat is not from fish but the Sea Gulls that fly overhead in search of food. Shane however stays close to the mice at all times to ensure that they remain safe.

The surfing skills of the Radical Rodents has impressed and brought smiles on the faces of many Australian beachgoers - most of whom have no idea what to expect, until they get closer to the miniature surfboards.

sources:telegraph.co.uk, surfingmice.com