Hazel dormouse

Description

It weights 15 to 40 g and grows to a length of just under 15 cm, with almost half of the length (5.8 to 6.8 cm) being accounted for by the tail. The coat is yellow-brownish to reddish-brown with a white patch on the throat and chest, the tail is usually somewhat darker; pure white or black animals have also been recorded. They live 3 to 4 years in the wild and are sexually mature at one year.

Habitat

Their preferred habitat is dense bushes, hedges, wide forest margins and mixed forests with rich undergrowth. Hazel bushes (Corylus avellana) and bramble hedges are particularly popular. However, it seems to be quite adaptable and tolerant of noise, as individuals and nests have already been found in dividing strips of motorways planted with bushes.

The text is a translation of an excerpt from Wikipedia (https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haselmaus). On wikipedia the text is available under a „Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike“ licence. Status: 19 August 2021