Mighty Dormouse

This beautiful picture above was e-mailed to me by my mother. She is a nanny and she works for someone who works for Natuurmonumenten (A nature preservation group in the Netherlands) He had gotten some pics from this rare mouse that only lives in the south of the Netherlands. It’s called a hazel dormouse (Muscardinus avellanarius) The hazel dormice inhabits deciduous forests that maintain a thick layer of scrub plants and underbrush. Being agile climbers, hazel dormice spend much of their time in the tree canopy searching for food. They also inhabit hedge rows in rural areas. They are hard to spot between the thick bushes.

It is the smallest of the European dormice and has a head to tail length of 115 to 164 mm. The tail makes up about one half of overall length. Looking similar to many other mouse-sized mammals, they have prominent black eyes and small, round ears, but can be distinguished by a thick, bushy tail. Coloration of hazel dormice is a brown to amber color on the dorsal side of the body, and white on the ventral side. Young hazel dormice lack the identifying color of the adults and are a duller and grayer in coloration. The feet of hazel dormice are very flexible, and are adapted for climbing.

The dormouse is strictly nocturnal. Days are spent sleeping in a spherical nest that is made of grasses, stripped bark, and moss, that is held together by a sticky saliva. The nest is about 15 cm in diameter and completely surrounds the individual which occupies it. The nests are usually located about 2 meters off the ground. Common dormice spend their nights up in the trees foraging for food. Their prehensile feet are very helpful when jumping between branches. Hibernation occurs from October to April, although early hibernation can be initiated if the external temperature drops below 16'C.

It consumes a diet consisting mainly of fruits and nuts, but will also eat bird eggs, fledglings, insects and pollen if they are readily available. Hazelnuts are a favorite nut of hazel dormice. Nuts which have been opened by these animals are easily distinguished by a smooth, round hole that is unlike that made by other rodents. Hazel dormice specialize on nuts in the weeks prior to hibernation, but do not store food for the winter.

Muscardinus avellanarius populations are declining in the northern areas of its range, due to loss of forest habitat. Hazel dormice are currently listed as lower risk in the IUCN red list.

I think it’s a beautiful species and I would have loved to see it in real life! Thanks Lars for the beautiful picture