29-454: GEF or Gef may refer to: Gef , a supposed talking mongoose from the Isle of Man Global Education Futures , a European NGO focused on global transformation of education Global Enrichment Foundation , a Canadian humanitarian organization Global Environment Facility , an intergovernmental environmental organizations Global Equality Fund , of
58-504: A dog , or a baby. According to the Irvings, a creature named Gef introduced itself and told them it was a mongoose born in New Delhi , India, in 1852. According to Voirrey, Gef was the size of a small rat with yellowish fur and a large bushy tail. The Irvings claimed that Gef had communicated to them that he was "an extra extra clever mongoose", an "Earthbound spirit" and "a ghost in the form of
87-456: A muroid rodent is discovered, its common name includes the term mouse if it is smaller, or rat if it is larger. The common terms rat and mouse are not taxonomically specific. Typical mice are classified in the genus Mus , but the term mouse is not confined to members of Mus and can also apply to species from other genera such as the deer mouse ( Peromyscus ) . Domestic mice sold as pets often differ substantially in size from
116-586: A dog". He did state that none of the markings had been made by a mongoose. The diaries of James Irving, along with reports about the case, are in Harry Price's archives in the Senate House Library , University of London . Upon visiting the Irvings, Price observed double walls of wooden panelling covering the interior rooms of the old stone farmhouse which featured considerable interior air space between stone, as well as walls, also made of wood, that "[made]
145-465: A keen sense of hearing. They depend on their sense of smell to locate food and avoid predators. In the wild, mice are known to build intricate burrows. These burrows have long entrances and are equipped with escape tunnels. In at least one species, the architectural design of a burrow is a genetic trait. The most common mice are murines , in the same clade as common rats . They are murids, along with gerbils and other close relatives. Researchers at
174-769: A large variety of vegetables. Despite popular belief, most mice do not have a special appetite for cheese. They will only eat cheese for lack of better options. Mice are common experimental animals in laboratory research of biology and psychology fields primarily because they are mammals , and also because they share a high degree of homology with humans. They are the most commonly used mammalian model organism , more common than rats . The mouse genome has been sequenced, and virtually all mouse genes have human homologs . The mouse has approximately 2.7 billion base pairs and 20 pairs of chromosomes. They can also be manipulated in ways that are illegal with humans, although animal rights activists often object. A knockout mouse
203-484: A mongoose" and once said, "I am a freak. I have hands and I have feet, and if you saw me you'd faint, you'd be petrified, mummified, turned into stone or a pillar of salt!" The Irvings made various claims about Gef: he supposedly guarded their house and informed them of the approach of guests or any unfamiliar dog; if someone forgot to put out the fire at night, Gef would go down and stop the stove; Gef would also wake people up when they overslept; and whenever mice got into
232-481: A relatively short time. Mice are generally very docile if raised from birth and given sufficient human contact. However, certain strains have been known to be quite temperamental. Many people buy mice as companion pets. They can be playful, loving and can grow used to being handled. Like pet rats, pet mice should not be left unsupervised outside as they have many natural predators, including (but not limited to) birds, snakes, lizards, cats, and dogs. Male mice tend to have
261-406: A story, and credulous paranormalists." Contemporary media scholar Jeffrey Sconce writes that the most likely explanation is that "this extra extra clever mongoose was an imaginary companion created by the Irvings' extra extra clever daughter." In 1937 Lambert brought an action for slander against Sir Cecil Levita , after Levita suggested to a friend that Lambert was unfit to be on the board of
290-524: A stronger odor than the females. However, mice are careful groomers and as pets they never need bathing. Well looked-after mice can make ideal pets. Some common mouse care products are: Mice are a staple in the diet of many small carnivores . In various countries mice are used as feed for pets such as snakes , lizards , frogs , tarantulas , and birds of prey , and many pet stores carry mice for this purpose. Such mice are sold in various sizes and with various amounts of fur. Mice without fur are easier for
319-494: Is a genetically modified mouse that has had one or more of its genes made inoperable through a gene knockout . Experimental mouse model systems include mouse models of colorectal and intestinal cancer , mouse models of Down syndrome and mouse models of breast cancer metastasis . Reasons for common selection of mice are that they are small and inexpensive, have a widely varied diet, are easily maintained, and can reproduce quickly. Several generations of mice can be observed in
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#1732848261319348-523: The British Film Institute . Levita said that Lambert was "off his head" because he had believed in the talking mongoose and the evil eye . Lambert was pressured to abandon his action by Sir Stephen Tallents but persisted with it and won, receiving £7,600 in damages, then an exceptional figure for a slander case, awarded because Lambert's counsel managed to introduce a BBC memo which showed Lambert's career had been threatened if he persisted with
377-545: The International Institute for Psychical Research , stayed at the Irvings' house for a week without seeing or hearing Gef. Fodor disbelieved any deliberate deception had occurred and moulded a complex psychological theory to explain Gef based on " a split-off part " of Jim Irving's personality. Although some psychic investigators thought that Gef was a poltergeist or another type of ghost , sceptics, including residents of
406-735: The Talking Mongoose or the Dalby Spook , was an allegedly talking mongoose which inhabited a farmhouse owned by the Irving family, located at Cashen's Gap near the hamlet of Dalby on the Isle of Man . The story was given extensive coverage by the tabloid press in Britain in the early 1930s. The Irvings' claims gained the attention of parapsychologists and ghost hunters , such as Harry Price , Hereward Carrington , and Nandor Fodor . Some investigators of
435-460: The Irvings' sheepdog, as were several photos which were claimed by the Irvings to depict Gef. Margaret and Voirrey Irving left the home in 1945 after the death of James Irving. They reportedly had to sell the farm at a loss because it had the reputation of being haunted. In 1946, Leslie Graham, who had bought their farm, claimed in the press that he had shot and killed Gef. The body displayed by Graham was, however, black and white and much larger than
464-450: The Isle of Man, believed the Irving family had colluded to perpetuate a hoax that was originated by daughter Voirrey. An Isle of Man Examiner reporter wrote that when he caught the girl making noises, her father tried to convince him the sound came from somewhere else. According to Joe Nickell researchers have suspected Voirrey used ventriloquism and other tricks "the effects of which were hyped by family members, reporters in search of
493-593: The Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology have confirmed that mice have a range of facial expressions. They used machine vision to spot familiar human emotions like pleasure, disgust, nausea, pain, and fear. In nature, mice are largely herbivores , consuming any kind of fruit or grain from plants. However, mice adapt well to urban areas and are known for eating almost all types of food scraps. In captivity, mice are commonly fed commercial pelleted mouse diet. These diets are nutritionally complete, but they still need
522-550: The United States Department of State Green European Foundation , a European political foundation Graphical Editing Framework , a software framework Greek Expeditionary Force (Korea) , during the Korean War Greif, Inc. , an American manufacturing company Guanine nucleotide exchange factor Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with
551-614: The action, which became known as "the Mongoose Case". Mice A mouse ( pl. : mice ) is a small rodent . Characteristically, mice are known to have a pointed snout, small rounded ears, a body-length scaly tail, and a high breeding rate. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse ( Mus musculus ). Mice are also popular as pets . In some places, certain kinds of field mice are locally common. They are known to invade homes for food and shelter. Mice are typically distinguished from rats by their size. Generally, when
580-500: The animal to consume; however, mice with fur may be more convincing as animal feed. Humans have eaten mice since prehistoric times . In Victorian Britain, fried mice were still given to children as a folk remedy for bed-wetting ; while Jared Diamond reports creamed mice being used in England as a dietary supplement during Second World War rationing. Mice are a delicacy throughout eastern Zambia and northern Malawi , where they are
609-463: The common house mouse. This is attributable to breeding and different conditions in the wild. The best-known strain of mouse is the white lab mouse . It has more uniform traits that are appropriate to its use in research. Cats , wild dogs , foxes , birds of prey , snakes and certain kinds of arthropods have been known to prey upon mice. Despite this, mice populations remain plentiful. Due to its remarkable adaptability to almost any environment ,
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#1732848261319638-409: The era as well as contemporary critics have concluded that the phenomenon was a hoax that the Irving family perpetuated by using ventriloquism . In September 1931, the Irving family, consisting of James, Margaret, and a 13-year-old daughter named Voirrey, claimed they heard persistent scratching, rustling, and vocal noises behind their farmhouse's wooden wall panels that variously resembled a ferret ,
667-474: The famous mongoose and Voirrey Irving was certain that it was not Gef. Voirrey died in 2005. In an interview published late in life, she maintained that Gef was not her creation. In July 1935 the editor of The Listener , Richard S. Lambert (known as "Rex"), and his friend, paranormal investigator Harry Price , went to the Isle of Man to investigate the case and produced the book The Haunting of Cashen's Gap (1936). They avoided saying that they believed
696-400: The house, Gef supposedly assumed the role of a cat, although he preferred to scare them rather than killing them. According to the Irvings' words, they gave Gef biscuits, chocolates, and bananas, with food left for him in a saucer suspended from the ceiling which he took when he thought no one was watching. The mongoose regularly accompanied them on their trips to the market, but always stayed on
725-579: The mouse is one of the most successful mammalian genera living on Earth today. In certain contexts, mice can be considered vermin . Vermin are a major source of crop damage, as they are known to cause structural damage and spread disease . Mice spread disease through their feces and are often carriers of parasites . In North America, breathing dust that has come in contact with mouse excrement has been linked to hantavirus , which may lead to hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS). Primarily nocturnal animals, mice compensate for their poor eyesight with
754-462: The other side of the hedges, chatting incessantly. The story of Gef became popular in the tabloid press, and many journalists flocked to the Isle to try to catch a glimpse of the creature. Several other people, both locals and visitors, claimed to have heard Gef's voice, and two claimed to have seen it; however, physical evidence was lacking. Footprints, stains on the wall, and hair samples claimed to be evidence of Gef were identified as belonging to
783-707: The story but were careful to report it objectively. The book reports how a hair from the alleged mongoose was sent to Julian Huxley , who then sent it to naturalist F. Martin Duncan , who identified it as a dog hair. Price suspected the hair belonged to the Irvings' sheepdog, Mona. Price asked Reginald Pocock of the Natural History Museum to evaluate pawprints allegedly made by Gef in plasticene together with an impression of his supposed tooth marks. Pocock could not match them to any known animal, though he conceded that one of them might have been "conceivably made by
812-490: The title GEF . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=GEF&oldid=1166324912 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Gef Gef ( / ˈ dʒ ɛ f / JEF ), also referred to as
841-440: The whole house one great speaking-tube, with walls like sound boards. By speaking into one of the many apertures in the panels, it should be possible to convey the voice to various parts of the house." According to Richard Wiseman , "Price and Lambert were less than enthusiastic about the case, concluding that only the most credulous of individuals would be impressed with the evidence for Gef." Nandor Fodor , Research Officer for
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