6 NEBRASKAland • JULY 2018
Meadow Jumping
Mouse
Lindsay Rogers is an outdoor education specialist with the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission.
By Lindsay Rogers
As one might suspect, the
meadow jumping mouse is easily
characterized by its unusually large
hind feet used for hopping and
leaping. It is also identified by its long
tail which is over half of its total body
length (180-235 millimeters).
Meadow jumping mice are mainly nocturnal,
although they can also be somewhat crepuscular – active at dawn and dusk. They feed on mainly insects in the
spring months and seeds, berries and grasses in the summer and fall. In September, adults enter hibernation,
with juveniles entering hibernation later in October. Hibernation ends in April or May.
Reproduction quickly follows emergence from hibernation. Gestation is only about 18 days, which means the
first of up to three annual litters are born in May to early June. Although born blind, deaf, hairless and claw-less,
the young are weaned and fully independent at about four weeks.
Its ability to jump up to one meter in the air is important when trying to escape predators. Weasels, foxes,
hawks and owls all prey on jumping mice. ■
A Mammal
Brief
PHOTO
BY
GARY
MEZAROS
