Conservation & Ecology
They are still consumed by those at the other end of the economic spectrum, largely in central and eastern Europe, and trapping them is a traditional pastime for social activity in Slovenia
rodent, and their family is diverse for a mammalian subtype. It includes some that do not truly hibernate, and many that are specialised for types of habitat significantly different from those found on the British Isles.
They reproduce in litters of about four, but again, most will not live for very long. The ones which survive will usually only have one litter, sometimes two, but they are weaned and achieve independence very early, usually tackling their first hibernation alone when a couple of months old. They have evolved to be nocturnal, which is partly because their ranges vary over those of birds of prey, and appearing at night makes the threat of most inert ‐ the only real aerial threat to the hazel tends to be the owl.
Habitat
These types include the expert climber, the ‘forest dormouse’, which lives basically anywhere heavily wooded, and the ‘desert dormouse’, which looks a lot like a hamster or gerbil, because it is covered in long, soft fur to help in its arid home, which appears to be exclusively Kazakhstan.
This specialisation means the dormouse is
incredibly adaptable, typical of smaller mammals, and has evolved to live in every climate type across Eurasia.
It has variants in coastal Japan, the north Asian steppes, the arid Kazakh desert, lush Russian wet‐forests and was, at one time, even subject to island gigantism on the hot and sticky Spanish islands, where the extinct ‘Majorcan giant dormouse’ grew to around 30cm (12”) long.
In the UK, they are nowadays mostly limited to the Anglo‐Welsh border, southern England and southern Wales, which is why Darren and his team are so fortunate to manage a course on which they can safely live and reproduce.
Cuisine
As difficult as it may be for some of us to think about, many of the world’s people still eat other tiny rodents as we eat rabbits, and they are considered a delicacy in some parts of the world.
This, in dormice, is particularly true of the imaginatively‐named ‘edible dormouse’, which was eaten by wealthy ancient Romans, who saw it as the height fine meat. They are still consumed by those at the other end of the economic spectrum, largely
”
in central and eastern Europe, and trapping them is a traditional pastime for social activity in Slovenia.
Defensiveness
Dormice share traits with other animals considered integral parts of British culture, including their penchant for fighting, which they share with the famously feisty European robin.
This is a reason for their apparent scarcity. It is rare to find two families of dormice within a few hundred yards of each other, owing to territorial disputes, presumably the evolutionary result of their constant struggle to find suitable sources of food and hibernation shelter.
Many tend to bite humans who attempt to capture them without taking necessary precautions. This is an issue, because like all rodents they have well‐developed incisors, and the bites of some larger types, such as the ‘fat dormouse’ can reach the bones of a human hand.
They are also carriers of the same communicable diseases found in rabbits, rats and other transmitters, such as salmonellosis and, famously, the now‐rare bubonic plague.
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