A small animal with an interesting name, hazel dormouse, belongs to a large detachment of rodents. The animal is found in almost all European countries with the exception of Spain.
Description
Outwardly, this small (its length is not more than 9 cm) rodent is very similar to a squirrel. In addition to size, it differs from it in small rounded ears and a characteristic tassel at the tip of the tail. The animal has a single-color reddish-ocher color. Against this background, bulging dark eyes stand out clearly. The slightly blunt muzzle is covered with a small fluff. Very long whiskers with curved tips constantly move, feeling the surrounding space. They are especially well developed on the side of the nose and can reach up to 40% of the total length of the body.
Sonia inhabit mainly mixed forests, dominated by trees such as oak, linden, mountain ash, as well as bushes of wild rose, hazel, euonymus and viburnum.
Features
The hazel dormouse, the photo of which is posted in this article, like all representatives of this family, is a nocturnal animal that hibernates for the winter. Looks for a cozy and warm place in advancea mink, located most often in the hollow of an old rotten tree or underground. During hibernation, all life processes in the animal slow down, and the body temperature drops so much that sometimes it is only one degree higher than the ambient temperature. All this helps to stretch the 10-15 grams of fat accumulated in the fall for a long winter.
Spring warming is a wake-up call. But it happens that it is deceptive and is immediately replaced by cold. This phenomenon is very dangerous for dormouse, because energy consumption increases, and there are almost no fat reserves left. In such unfavorable periods, up to 70% of animals die.
The hazel dormouse is a collective animal. A whole company is usually arranged in the wintering nest. This helps to keep warm, and, therefore, increases the chances of survival.
Food
The favorite delicacy of this rodent is all kinds of nuts, acorns, rowan berries, viburnum, bird cherry, etc. Dormouse has a special weakness for hazel, for which it received the name hazel. She easily cuts through nut shells with her sharp front incisors.
In the diet of the animal there is exclusively plant food. This hazel dormouse, described above, differs from other members of the family. In spring, it feeds on young shoots, leaves and buds of trees. In autumn, in addition to berries and nuts, seeds of various plants are added to the menu.
This animal absorbs a large amount of food, preparing for hibernation. Its mass according toalmost doubles compared to the summer period. With the help of such reserves of fat, hazel dormouse safely survives the long winter months.
Reproduction
In the spring, mating season begins for Sonya. After fertilization, the female starts building the nest. It is usually placed on the branches of a tree or bush at a height of at least 1–2 meters from the ground, sometimes in an old hollow. It happens that animals capture birdhouses or nests of small birds under their nest. The walls and bottom of the chosen place are lined with soft grass and leaves. After about 27-30 days, naked and blind cubs are born here.
Usually there are three to five of them in a litter. Hazel dormouse feeds its babies with milk for one month. By the end of the third week, the eyes of the cubs finally erupt, they are covered with fluff and are already beginning to crawl out of the nest in search of food. After 40 days from the moment of birth, the animals begin an independent life, however, dormouse reach puberty only after the first year of life.
During the summer, the female brings two offspring. The later litter stays in the nest for the winter along with the adults.
Limiting factors
The decline in the population of these rodents in the European part of our country is caused by a number of factors related to human activity. The degradation of the natural forest, its transformation into park-type plantations, is rather poorly tolerated by many animals, including the hazel dormouse. A photorepresentatives of this species in natural conditions are becoming very rare.
The arrangement of picnics with bonfires leads to the deterioration of the fodder quality of the forest. There are less and less undisturbed oak forests in urban forests. The reduction in the number of animals is facilitated by cutting down trees, filling hollows, and destroying deadwood and loose litter. Today, attention is paid to the maximum preservation of the fodder and protective qualities of natural biocenoses. Helps save such animals as hazel dormouse, the Red Book of the Moscow Region, where all habitats of representatives of this species are marked.
