Rescuing Gator the Rat

There are lots of critters out here, some beneficial, some verminous.  Most of the rats I've encountered on the property are not of harmful species.  I've rescued a dozen or more of these from the swimming pool, and based on the physical profile, they appear to be wood rats, which are not household pests.  (Based on behavior, specifically their tendency to swim, they might be a variety of rice rat, but those are not supposed to be found in this area.)

Having encountered the large rat with the notched ears several times, I named it Gator.  Sometimes after a night stuck in the pool skimmers, critters of all kinds will be suffering from hypothermia, and in this case, I decided to try to warm the rat up a bit before releasing it.  Gator seemed to take to the handling, becoming fairly comfortable with being dried off and set in my lap.