Latin Name:
Micromys minutus
Status:
Least Concern
Food:
Mainly vegetarian, eating seeds and fruits, but will also eat invertebrates.
Population:
The population is hard to determine as they are very difficult to count.
Distribution:
Grassland, farmland and wetlands.
Interesting Fact:
The only British mammal to have a prehensile tail.
Harvest Mouse
This is Europe’s smallest rodent. They live in long grass and hedgerows and have a prehensile tail which is able to grasp the stems of plants helping them to move through long vegetation.
They have gingerish coat and a white belly, small hairy ears and a much blunter nose than other mice.
They build a completely spherical nest of woven grass and can have three litters a year.
Long grass around field margins is good habitat for them, and leaving extra space around crops is a great way to help them survive.
They do live in the wild in Cornwall but the population is hard to determine as they are very difficult to count.
Next Slide
Previous Slide