One would say... "What the heck is this?"

Perhaps I have mentioned that we live in a house. We have a yard, with some bushes and trees and a tiny vegetable area.

The bushes surround the house, as they have been planted to help prevent the erosion of soil as the house is built on the slopes of a hill.

In the last months, there have been a lot of noisy activity almost each night and after I've been awaken several times, I realized we've been having night guests.

Martens!

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They appear to become accustomed to scavenge our yard and garden for rodents and fallen fruits.

I'd say they do quite great job as we don't have any livestock and I hear they sometime do big damages in that regard. However, as we don't have such, I don't mind them at all, apart from the big fuss they make sometimes :)

Moreover, they are so cute! Curious too! :) Probably I should set a flash on a tripod and spy on them and try to capture few photographs. Or just buy a photo-trap, LMAO. Anyway.

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Last night though, was the peak of the wildlife drama I've ever been present to.

I decided to stay close to the path that I figured out they take each night. Hm, route is maybe a better word, as they circle several times around the house :)

Suddenly, a big rat climbed the wall just next to the door with mosquito net I've been silently standing by.

The rat saw me but I think it was more afraid for its life and the martens were, perhaps, a bigger threat to it.

I did not know rats can do this. The height were it ended was like two and a half meters!

Just a few minutes later, one of the two martens started to sniff around, I could tell it sensed the presence of the rat but couldn't see it.

The marten saw me too, standing just a meter away of it, behind the mosquito net, but I guess its hunger and predator instincts overcame all that attention.

It climbed the wall like a ninja, pushing its belly to the edge and holding the wall with its claws.

When it reached the rat, it tried to bite it, but the rat was quicker and jumped down and ran under the bushes. The marten followed it sharply.

I couldn't see the killing itself but the munching sounds and those of bones crashing between the jaws of the predator were quite distinctive...

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Sounds cruel? Well, the Wild Nature, or the Circle of Life, it is what it is...

I know rats are sacred animals in some cultures but here, we don't like them at all. It would be disgusting if a rat finds its way inside the house! Not to mention they carry plenty of deceases and by the way, while it was trying to hide away from the martens, I saw a huge tick on its buttocks...

So dear martens, well done, well done, and thank you! Of course, I didn't sleep well, nor long, this night, but it was worth it :)))

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Here is an uncomplete list of some of my equipment I use on a regular basis:

Cameras
	Canon EOS 5D Mark III
	Canon EOS M5
	Canon EOS 550D
Lenses
	Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM
	Canon EF 135mm f/2L USM
	Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM
	Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM
	Canon EF-M 15-45mm f/3.5-6.3 IS STM
	Canon EF-M 22mm f/2 STM
	Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8
	7artisans 35mm f/1.2
Strobes	Dynaphos Speedster
Flashes	Metz
Tripods and Mono-pods	Manfrotto
	Benro

The divider I use in my posts I have created in Adobe Express.