This is a kind of medium size mice. They are slightly larger than brownies. The body is on average 70 to 100 mm long, the tail is about the same, sometimes even longer. The head in comparison with the body is large, pointed muzzle with rather large eyes. The ears are long (up to 22 mm), webbed, rounded. They adjoin the muzzle from the side, sometimes they not only reach the eyes, but also close them. The hind legs are rather long with a narrow foot. The claws are very sharp.
The fur is soft on the back. Mostly the upper body of mice is brown. Although there are individuals who have yellow or red fur. Younger creatures are characterized by a duller and blurry color. Their bellies are whitish. On the chest between the front paws there is a speck in the form of a smear.
Where does a small rodent with long ears live?
The forest mouse lives in Russia, Ukraine, North America, Asia, Pakistan. Prefers not to live in open steppe areas without water bodies. For her, forests in the mountains or on the plains, as well as beams, shrubs and river valleys, become their home. Sometimes it can be found in coniferous forests or even in treelessness. Can settle near a person inoutbuildings, most often this happens in the winter.
Diet
What does the wood mouse eat? The main components of the diet are the seeds of tree species. In second place among food preferences are berries, insects, and green plants. The animal makes reserves both in burrows and in hollows and roots of those same trees.
Rodent habitation and reproduction
Mice are active mainly at night and at dusk. They prefer to settle in hollows located high enough. But in most cases they live under the roots of trees, fallen trunks, under stones, overhanging cliffs. They do not dig especially deep holes and do not create intricate catacombs, only a few nesting chambers and two or three exits.
The number of mice varies depending on climatic indicators. It can breed up to 4-5 times a year. Does not hibernate.
Pest or Helper?
The forest mouse harms both the natural regeneration of deciduous trees and afforestation. The complete destruction of beech, linden, and maple seeds by these rodents was recorded. They eat the sown seeds, damage the ones that have already sprouted, and harm agricultural plantations. But still there is one positive side of the existence of this species of mice - the role in the food chain. Simply without them, birds of prey, snakes and even hedgehogs could not live, especially in the winter season.
The forest mouse is a carrier of pathogens such as tularemia, erysipelas, paratyphoid and others.
Similar Species
The forest mouse differs from the house mouse in that it does not have a tooth on the back of the upper incisors. When compared with a baby mouse, then the representatives of the species in question are much larger. The Asiatic does not have a white belly, as the forest has. The mountain mouse, on the other hand, is much larger than the forest mouse.
Geographic changes and subspecies
Depending on the habitat, the appearance of the mouse and the color may vary slightly. Towards the south, they become larger in size, the color is brighter, and a yellow spot on the chest appears in more rodents. By the way, the size of this spot is also increasing, especially in mountain specimens.
Starting from Sweden and up to the middle Urals, the forest mouse is mostly dark in color. Already beyond the Urals, you can meet representatives with a duller color. In the south of Ukraine and in the Crimea, mice with a light shade of wool predominate, in the Caucasus - with a red one.
Small conclusion
Now you know who the forest mouse is, you can see her photo in our article. We also told where she lives, what she eats, how she harms people. We hope you found this information useful.
