Was it a shrew or mouse? Either way, it prompted Oconomowoc to close a playground
OCONOMOWOC - Children might not be the only ones frolicking on a popular all-inclusive Oconomowoc playground, and that has sent city officials on a mouse hunt.
Or is it a shrew, the more outdoorsy cousins which also sometimes inhabit people's yards?
In a Facebook post Monday, parks officials acknowledged that some sort of small rodent had been sighted, along with a single-hole burrow that at least raised the question about what may be afoot, or underfoot, at the Imagination Station playground.
It was enough to close the playground temporarily while the parks department considers the situation.
The 16,000-square-foot playground, in the 100 block of East Forest Street in Roosevelt Park adjacent to the Lake Country Trail, is listed as a regional destination by Visit Waukesha County, a tourism initiative that highlights various locales and businesses of interest in the county. As such, it brings in users from outside the city itself.
Built by volunteers in 2009, it has what city officials describe as therapeutic swings, multi-sensory activity structures and musical and educational components, among other features aimed at inclusiveness for kids of various abilities and limitations.
It also has woodlands surrounding it, and therein lies the prospective problem.
"The environment around the Imagination Station is wooded and typically wet," the city said in its Facebook post. "This environment, along with any food left on the ground, can attract mice."
In another Facebook post, this one on the Friends of Imagination Station page, Nadine Tazmin said on Friday at the playground her husband found a critter they described as a shrew, which differs from a field mouse. She indicated that he was able to move the shrew off the playground but knew it could return.
"I can’t confirm that the shrew my husband found is the only mouse. But I can confirm that yes it was a shrew that he caught at the park," Tazmin said via Facebook Messenger in response to reporter questions. "It was eating a cookie cracker it found, completely unphased (sic) by the kids running around."
Parks officials aren't panicking. For one, there has been nothing to suggest an infestation or safety danger.
"A review of the site did not indicate more than just the single hole. While closed, an exterminator will work to remove the mouse and a thorough review for burrows will be completed," parks officials said in their Facebook post.
Many commenting on the city's Facebook post concerning the decision to close the park under such circumstances weren't exactly sure of the fuss. Some questioned the resources expended. Others simply thought the people types should leave the mouse alone, given that it's living in its own habitat near the woods.
City and parks officials were not immediately available to comment further on the timeline for reopening the park.
Contact Jim Riccioli at (262) 446-6635 or james.riccioli@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter at @jariccioli.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Mouse prompts closing of Imagination Station playground in Oconomowoc
