Tien Shan birch mouse facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Tien Shan birch mouse |
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|---|---|
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Sicista
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| Species: |
tianshanica
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The Tien Shan birch mouse (Sicista tianshanica) is a small rodent. It belongs to a group of animals called the Sminthidae family. You can find this mouse living in parts of China, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan.
What Does It Look Like?
This little mouse is about 70 mm (2.8 in) long. That's about the size of your finger! Its tail is very long, about one and a half times its body length. The fur on its back is a yellowish-grey color. It doesn't have a stripe down its back like some other birch mice. Its sides are a light straw color. Its chin and throat are white, and its belly is whitish-grey with a hint of light brown. The back of its head is longer than that of the southern birch mouse.
Where Does It Live?
The Tien Shan birch mouse lives in China, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan. It likes many different places. You can find it in flat areas near mountains. It also lives in mountain forests and open grassy areas high up in the mountains. Sometimes, it lives right at the edge of forests.
How Does It Behave?
Even though the Tien Shan birch mouse doesn't have special legs for jumping, it mostly moves by hopping. Its long tail is quite useful. It can wrap its tail around small branches. This helps the mouse climb through bushes and low plants.
This mouse is mostly active at night. It is especially busy around sunset. Early in the year, it eats mostly insects, snails, and earthworms. Later in summer and autumn, it changes its diet. Then it prefers berries and seeds.
The Tien Shan birch mouse sleeps for a long time in winter. This is called hibernation. How long it hibernates depends on where it lives. For example, in the Issyk-kul area, it is only active from May to October. These mice usually have one group of babies each year. A mother mouse will have about three to seven young around mid-summer.
What Is Its Status?
The Tien Shan birch mouse lives in a large area. There are many of these mice in some places. However, their numbers can go up and down a lot. Scientists have not found any big threats to this mouse. There are also several protected areas where it lives. Because of this, the International Union for Conservation of Nature says it is of "least concern". This means it is not in danger of disappearing right now.
