Dormouse | Wildlife Info-Photos 2012

Dormouse, a squirrel-like, bushy-tailed mouse found in Europe, Africa, and Asia. It is not found in America. The dormouse hibernates during the winter, often sleeping six months at a time. (Dormouse means "sleeping mouse.'') When awake, it lives in trees and eats nuts, seeds, acorns, and fruit. In early fall it begins to store fat in its body, and by October it retires to a hollow tree or abandoned bird's nest to begin hibernation.

The European dormouse is about as large as a red squirrel. It is sometimes trapped for its fine, silky fur. The hazel dormouse, found in England, is a reddish-brown, alert animal. The rock dormouse, found in the mountain country of South Africa, has a peculiarly shaped flat skull, and is able to wedge itself into rocky crevices to avoid enemies.

The dormouse is an omnivorous animal meaning that it hunts and feeds on a variety of both plants and other animals. Fruits, nuts, insects, seeds, berries and flowers are the primary sources of food for the dormouse, although the exact diet of the dormouse depends on the species and the area which it inhabits. Due to their relatively small size, the dormouse is preyed upon by numerous predators in it's woodland habitat. Birds such as owls, falcons and small eagles prey on the dormouse from high in the sky, while mammals such as foxes, cats, stoats and weasels hunt the dormouse on ground level.

 Dormouse

 Dormouse

 Dormouse

 Dormouse

Dormouse