Okay, not actually, but still pretty close. The southern grasshopper mouse (Onychomys torridus) roams the Sonoran desert looking for unsuspecting prey. Unlike many other variations of mice, this one is peculiarly carnivorous. It will go after crickets, tarantulas, and even other rodents. They are born to be aggressive killers from the day they are born, for the parents will raise the pups in captivity so that they can learn how to go after much larger prey.

Additionally, since they are raised with their two parents, they take on their father’s aggression and learn to bully other rodents, as opposed to species who are only raised by their mothers. These behaviors continue through their adulthood, for they are able to bully their ways into house and home. The mice will not make their own burrows but rather take over other nests, and will even remove the prior residents by force.

It is sometimes referred to the Werewolf mouse for it’s murderous tendencies and the fact that is throws back its head to howl at the moon. The howl is more like a high pitched screech that echoes through the desert right before the mouse completes a hunt. Moreover, there are still many more strange characteristics of the specimen. If the mouse cannot find anything to eat for extended periods of time, it will often result to eating members of its own species, or even family. In addition to its cannibalistic tendencies, the grasshopper mouse will also keep various flea species from their victims as a type of trophy from the hunt.

Despite being a tiny, trouble-causing savage, there are scientific benefits involved with their hunting mechanisms. For example, the rodent has a “unique biology” that allows them to be resistant to venom, particularly that of the Arizona bark scorpion. Researchers are looking into these mechanisms in the hopes that could one day be used to “treat human pain disorders.” The Arizona bark scorpion is one of the most poisonous scorpions in the world, causing heart and breathing issues, as well as intensive muscle contractions and searing pain. However, the grasshopper mouse will get stung numerous times by the scorpion and continue to eat it without showing any signs of pain or struggle.

Ashlee Rowe of Sam Houston State University conducted an experiment to find out why it is so pain intolerant. Scientist injected the venom into the back paws of the grasshopper mouse, and into the back paws of ordinary house mice. The house mice were much more respondent to the venom, licking their paws for long periods of time in attempts to sooth the pain. However, the grasshopper mice licked their paws only a few times before returning back to normal. The scientists found that this was because the grasshopper mice have a genetic alteration in which a “protein in the cell membrane called Nav.17 that fires pain signals,” changes to Nav1.8, resulting in the signals to have mutations that block them from going to the brain. This means that when the grasshopper mouse is attacked, the pain signal doesn’t reach the brain and the discomfort from the venom doesn’t register. According to Rowe, this alteration in humans results in a disease called erythromelalgia, which causes burning sensations in the hands and feet. Scientists are working on using the pain-blocking mutation in these mice to alter the mutations in humans. If the continued experiments develop further, these alterations would be very helpful in the creation of painkillers.