Pacific pocket mouse facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Pacific pocket mouse |
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| Conservation status | |
Scientific classification  |
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Rodentia |
| Family: | Heteromyidae |
| Genus: | Perognathus |
| Species: | |
| Subspecies: |
P. l. pacificus
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| Trinomial name | |
| Perognathus longimembris pacificus Mearns, 1898
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The Pacific pocket mouse, known scientifically as Perognathus longimembris pacificus, is a tiny mouse found only in California. It lives in sandy areas near the coast, especially in places with coastal sage scrub plants. These mice mostly eat seeds and some insects.
For a while, people thought the Pacific pocket mouse was gone forever. But then, in 1993, a small group of them was found! Because there are so few left, it is now a federally listed Endangered animal. This means it needs special protection to survive.
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What Does the Pacific Pocket Mouse Look Like?
Pacific pocket mice are very small. Their bodies are covered in soft, silky fur. Their fur color often matches the sandy soil where they live. This helps them blend in! Usually, their back is brownish-pink, and their belly is white. They also have two lighter patches of hair near the base of their ears. Their tail can be two different colors or one solid color. The bottom of their back feet are hairy, which is a special feature.
Baby pocket mice are called "pinkies," "kittens," or "pups." Female mice are called "does," and males are called "bucks." A group of these mice can be called a "nest," "colony," "harvest," "horde," or "mischief."
These mice are among the smallest of all pocket mouse species. From their nose to the tip of their tail, they are about 4.25 inches (108 mm) to 5.2 inches (130 mm) long. Their tail is about 2.125 inches (54.0 mm) long. They usually weigh about 0.25 to 0.33 ounces, which is less than a quarter of a candy bar! A female mouse can have 8 to 10 babies each year.
Where Do Pacific Pocket Mice Live?
The Pacific pocket mouse lives only along the coast of southern California. They are found from Marina del Rey in Los Angeles County down to the U.S.-Mexican border in San Diego County. They don't live farther than 2.5 miles (4.0 km) from the ocean.
They prefer areas with fine sand or sandy soil right by the Pacific Ocean. Their homes include coastal beaches, sand dunes, and areas with coastal sage scrub plants.
Life and Habits of the Pacific Pocket Mouse
The Pacific pocket mouse is the smallest mammal that hibernates. This means they go into a deep sleep during the winter. While they are hibernating, they eat seeds they have stored in their underground homes, called burrows. They eat seeds from grasses and other plants, and sometimes leafy greens. In the wild, these mice usually live for about three to five years. If they live in a safe place like a zoo, they can live up to seven years.
Pacific pocket mice usually only interact with other mice of their own kind. When they are not interacting, they are busy trying to avoid predators. Animals like gray foxes and cats (both wild and pets) hunt them. Even tiny Argentine ants can be a danger to them. The Pacific pocket mouse has been on the endangered species list since 1994.
How Pacific Pocket Mice Reproduce
Pacific pocket mice are usually shy and live alone. They only spend time with other mice when it's time to have babies. We don't know a lot about how they breed. Females usually have one litter of babies per year, with about two to eight pups. Sometimes, they might have two litters.
The main breeding season is from April to July, with most babies born in the spring. However, the breeding season can change. Things like temperature, how much food is available, and how much plants are growing can affect it. If there isn't enough rain, they might not have any babies that year.
The mother mouse carries her babies for about 22 to 23 days. When they are born, the babies are tiny, less than an inch long and weighing less than one gram. Like all mammals, they drink their mother's milk. They stop drinking milk after about 30 days. Pacific pocket mice can start having their own babies when they are two to five months old.
What Pacific Pocket Mice Eat
The Pacific pocket mouse mostly eats seeds, nuts, and green plants when they can find them. They are called "granivores" because they eat grains and seeds. They leave their burrows at night to find food. This helps them avoid the hot sun and stay safe from predators. They often find seeds in bushes or small plants close to their burrow. If seeds are hard to find, they will dig small holes with their front paws to search for food.
These mice can live for a long time without drinking water. They get all the moisture they need from their food and from their bodies.
Many things affect how a pocket mouse finds its food:
- Seed size: Bigger seeds can fill them up more.
- Food amount: They need to know if there's enough food close to their burrow.
- Nutrition: The food needs to be healthy enough to help them survive.
- Predator risk: If there are many predators around, they must be very careful when looking for food.
- Soil type: If the soil is too hard, it's tough to dig for food.
When a pocket mouse finds enough seeds, it stores them in special fur-lined pouches in its cheeks. These pouches can stretch quite a bit! The pouches help the mouse carry a lot of food at once, saving time and energy. This also helps them survive when food is scarce or when predators are nearby.
Once their cheeks are full, the mouse scurries back to its burrow. Inside, it unloads the seeds into different storage areas. When they need food, they take seeds from these storage spots. During spring and autumn, they gather more food to prepare for summer and winter, when food is harder to find.
Saving the Pacific Pocket Mouse
The Pacific pocket mouse was thought to be extinct for almost 20 years! But it was found again in 1993. Because of this, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service quickly gave it full protection in 1994. They made a plan in 1997 to help the mouse recover. Their goal was to make it less endangered by 2023.
Right now, there are only about 150 Pacific pocket mice left. To help them, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is working to protect the mice that are still alive. They are also looking for new groups of mice and trying to create new populations by raising mice in captivity and then releasing them into the wild. Their main goal is to protect the Pacific pocket mouse until it no longer needs special help.
Places like Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton and the city of Dana Point are also helping. The U.S. Marine Corps has allowed some mice to be moved to new, safe places away from the base. In 1998, Dana Point set aside 70 acres (280,000 m2) of land for the mice. In 2010, special dogs were used at Camp Pendleton to find mouse droppings. This helped scientists learn that the mice were living in five times more areas than they thought!
What Threatens the Pacific Pocket Mouse?
The biggest dangers to the Pacific pocket mouse are losing their homes, their homes getting damaged, and their homes being broken into smaller pieces. This happens because of new buildings for cities, farms, homes, and fun activities. Other threats include digging up the ground or removing plants for construction or off-road driving. Building roads, railroads, and airports also harms their homes.
Losing groundwater and the special sand they need for their habitat is also a big problem. Because these mice are very sensitive, other things like illegal trash dumping, new plants or animals that don't belong (invasive species), pet predators, and cars on roads also hurt them. Small groups of animals are always more likely to disappear than large groups.
One of the main reasons the Pacific pocket mouse is endangered is because its habitat is being destroyed or changed. Their homes need sandy soil and certain plant groups like coastal sage scrub and grasslands. Several new building projects are planned or approved in areas where these mice live, which adds to the danger.
Images for kids
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A Pacific pocket mouse in its habitat.
