![]() ![]() ![]() Range Mapįeeding: The California pocket mouse feeds mainly on the seeds of annual grasses and forbs, and probably consumes leafy vegetation and insects seasonally. Ranges in elevation from sea level to 2400 m (7900 ft). The California pocket mouse inhabits a variety of habitats year-round, including coastal scrub, chamise-redshank and montane chaparral, sagebrush, annual grassland, valley foothill hardwood, valley foothill hardwood-conifer, and montane hardwood habitats. Also from Auburn south along the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, and west across the Tehachapi Mts. (Source /species/.Distributed in California from San Francisco Bay south to the border of Mexico, east to the edge of the Great Valley. Who would have thought that a little species of mice would be the focus of such intense efforts as part of the Federal Endangered Species List? Scorned for centuries as carriers of plague, increased understanding of the place and purpose for each animal on earth has brought the smallest of mice species into a new, intriguing and certainly important place. Fish and Wildlife Service are working in conjunction with these two agencies to relocate the Camp Pendleton mice to 70 acres in the Dana Point Headlands reserved for the Pocket Mice since 1988. Now it is known to be extremely rare, and struggling to survive as increased urban development decreases its habitat.Ĭurrently, the Marine Corp Base Camp Pendleton and the City of Dana Point, California have opted to relocate Pacific Pocket Mouse colonies to safe areas developed for them. At one time, it was actually thought to be extinct. It is one of the smallest members of the Family: Heteromyidae, in the Group: Mammals. It has been on the Endangered Species List since February 3, 1994. Scientists know the miniscule Pacific Pocket Mouse by the large scientific name Perognathus longimembris pacificus. They are prey for red foxes and feral cats, but also suffer due to the increase of other wild animals that increasingly share their territory. Their habitat is endangered due to pollution and the gradual decline of safety in their normal environment. ![]() It has been estimated that there are only about 300 Pocket Mice living, with the majority of these found in California. The mice live about 3 to 5 years, depending upon the balance of available food and predator activity. Births normally take place from April through July. The mother, who can be fertile for 40 days, will usually give birth to one litter a year, with an average of three to seven babies per litter. When a baby Pocket Mouse is born, it will generally be about one inch long, and will weigh about an ounce. They store their extra food in fur-lined external cheek pouches. These tiny mice mostly eat seeds, some insects, grass, and leaves, though they are so small that they cannot maintain their energy unless they eat constantly while they are active. They live in the ground, and burrow deeper into the soil to escape extremes of heat or cold. The tiny, four to six-inch-long mice are light brown in color, distinguished by lighter color patches at the base of their ears. In fact, Pacific Pocket Mice are actually one of the most endangered species in the entire North American continent, and fascinating because they are also one of the smallest rodent species in the world. ![]() But, unlike common house mice, there are a growing number of very rare mice that have been added to the Endangered Species List. House mice infest foodstuffs, carry disease, and multiply like weeds when they have a comfortable house to live in. Home rodent control companies make thousands of dollars annually simply keeping homes free of mice. But, mice are normally just considered pests. Environmentalist groups struggle for donations to help stem the tide of growing numbers of species being added to the list. Who would have thought that a mouse would be on the Endangered Species List? Whales, big cats, and bears often reach the public eye through donation campaigns. ![]()
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