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Wood mouse - APODEMUS SYLVATICUS
Class: Animals with Milk Glands (Mammalia)
The Name "Mouse": "Mouse" comes from the Old English word
"mus," for the animal.
Location: Europe, central Asia, northern Africa.
Habitat: Terrestrial. Woods, cultivated land, and orchards.
Description: The coat on the back is shiny and tawny, on the underside dirty white. On the throat there is often a small white marking. The eyes are large and the ears conspicuous. The hind legs are longer than the front legs. Length of head and body is about four inches, the tail adds slightly more than four inches. It weighs about an ounce.
Behavior: This somewhat gregarious mouse feeds on seeds, berries, fruit, and roots. It stores large quantities of food in storerooms in its burrow. In winter it often takes up residence in people's homes, on the lower floors, and is fond of flour and grain. It does not hibernate, but when a winter is particularly severe it falls into a sort of torpor. It is mainly active during darkness, walking in small hops, and it is a good climber.
Reproduction: It reproduces four times between March and September. After a gestation period of three to four weeks, the female gives birth to five to nine young in a spherical nest made with dry grass. The offspring are independent after about three weeks, and reach sexual maturity at about two months.
Go to the Rodents Page to learn more about all the gnawing animals.
Or go to the Mouse Index to study other
mice.
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