Latin name:  Apodemus sylvaticus

Size:  8cm - 9cm from nose to base of tail.  The tail is about the same length again.

Distribution:  Found throughout the UK.

Months seen:  All year round

Habitat:  Woodlands, fields and hedgerows. Will also come into houses in winter months.

Food:  Mostly seeds, nuts and berries.

Special features:  The Wood Mouse, also known as the Long Tailed Field Mouse is probably the most common mammal in the UK.  The fur on the back is brown in colour - dark along the spine and lighter on the sides.  The belly and underside fur is a creamy-white. It has bulbous black eyes, and prominent ears.

Wood mice are notoriously fast breeders.  A female wood mouse can produce six litters of up to nine young every year.  The young are fully weaned after 18 days.

They generally live in an underground burrow, coming out at night to feed.  Their movements are fast, and sometimes they jump, looking like tiny kangaroos.  Underground, they build up a store of food for the winter.  Although they don't hibernate, they do become less active during the winter.

Wood mice have plenty of predators to keep their numbers in check, such as weasels, tawny owls, and in urban areas domestic cats.

Related Pages

• Mammal Section
• UK Safari News