THE CAPE DORMOUSE 



five is the average. At birth they are bhnd and hair- 

 less. Sometimes the nests are built in the thatch of 

 old buildings ; crevices in stone walls ; in holes in sod 

 fences ; among the tangled roots of a tree on a 

 sloping bank, and even in bee-hives. Mr. Loton 

 Tipper, a resident of Zwartkops, near Port Eliza- 

 beth, was considerably astonished one day on 

 lifting the lid of a bee-hive to inspect the frames, to 

 find a pair of Cape Dormice in the top section of 

 the hive. They had constructed a nest of moss, 

 lichen and leaves, and in the centre of this, five 

 blind and hairless young ones were found. The 

 nest, with the parents and young, were handed 

 over to me and placed in a dark cage. The assistant 

 omitted to feed them one week-end, and, on dis- 

 covering the fact the following Monday, I looked 

 into the nest and found the little ones had vanished 

 — the parents had devoured them. This is a com- 

 mon habit of many species of rodents. Sometimes 

 the young are eaten because the nest is disturbed ; 

 but more frequently this happens when sufficient 

 food is not obtainable by the parents. The young 

 referred to were born in the month of December, 

 and since then my Taxidermist has discovered 

 unborn young in several specimens which he dis- 

 sected about this time of year. It is therefore 

 apparent that the chief breeding time of the Cape 

 Dormouse is during midsummer. The food of the 

 Dormouse is varied. Wild fruits, berries, seeds and 

 buds form a portion of its diet. However, it 



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