My Leech Journey, part three

The conclusion to my leech saga. One leech disappears, possibly into my cat. The final leech is confiscated by a special agent. Video and audio of confiscation are provided.

Summary of parts one and two: I ordered leeches for medicinal purposes. They arrived on September 3. One leech “ran away.” Two leeches sucked my blood. One sucked much more than the other. I called this one the big leech. I called the other one the small leech. I put them in a bowl with a rock, inch plant cuttings, and a sea shell.

Lali—the suspected/probable eater of “small leech.”

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September 14

In the morning, I was surprised to see the small leech on the tile floor, squirming, covered in dust and hair and ants. I put it back in the water in the bowl on the counter. It sunk, leaving the ants and detritus floating on the water. It seemed okay, swimming around. I briefly wondered how it survived the ants. Bites from “little red fire ants”—the dominant species of ant here—are painful.

To prevent future escapes, I added a rock to the now three-part cover—plastic mesh, glass plate, oblong rock—for the bowl-home. I told myself to try feeding the small leech my blood again soon—maybe it left the bowl because it was hungry.