Harvest mouse

Harvest mice are Europe’s smallest rodents with a remarkable prehensile tail. This long, hairless ‘limb’ aids climbing through the tall, dense vegetation of their meadow, hedgerow and crop field homes. In the UK, they are rarely found north of Yorkshire or in Wales.

Harvest mice weave complex spherical nests out of grass. The one-use breeding nest is roughly the size of a cricket ball and built about a metre above ground in spring and summer. Another smaller nest is built closer to the ground and used in winter for sleeping and storing food. Alas at harvest time they can all too easily find themselves homeless and in danger.

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