134 THE LIVING ANIMALS OF THE WORLD 



The Dormice. 



There are a considerable number of animals, even here, which hibernate. Most of these 

 feed largely on insect food, which in winter is unobtainable in any great quantity. Conse- 

 quently the hedgehog and the badger, which live largely on snails and worms, go to sleep in the 

 famine months. So does the sleepiest of all — the Dormouse. This alone would show that this 

 little rodent probably feeds on insects very largely, for if it only ate nuts and berries it could 

 easily store these, and find a good supply also in the winter woods. It has been recently proved 

 that dormice are insectivorous, and will eat aphides, weevils, and caterpillars. Hut a dormouse 

 hibernates for so long a time that one might imagine its vitality entirely lot; it sleeps for six 

 months at a time, and becomes almost as cold as a dead animal, and breathes very slowly and 

 almost imperceptibly. Mr. Trevor-Battye says that if warmed and made to awaken suddenly in 



the winter it would die in a minute or two, its 

 heart beating very fast, " like a clock running 

 down." Before their hibernation dormice grow- 

 very fat. There is a large species, found in 

 Southern Europe, which the Romans used to 

 eat when in this fat stage. In winter dormice 

 usually seek the nest of some small bird, and 

 use it as a sleeping-place. They pull out and 

 renew the lining, or add a roof themselves. Into 

 the interior they carry a fresh supply of moss, 

 and sleep there in great comfort. Their great 

 ; «ny at in time is i i. weasel. There are tun 

 main groups af the dormice, divided by natural- 

 ists in reference to the structure of their stomach. 

 The South African Graphilkes have short tufted 

 tails. The hibernating habit is confined to the 

 more northern species. 



The Mouse Tribe. 



ejk This family, which includes the Mice, Rats. 



A^^* Wm and Voles, contains more than a third of the 

 ^ *m \i number of the whole order of Rodents. Some are 



»^ ' Vr H arboreal, others aquatic; but most are ground- 



a*. . jBBBI living animals and burrowers. The number of 



known species has been estimated at 330. Among 

 the most marked types are the Water-mice of 

 Australia and New Guinea, and of the island 

 of Luzon in the Philippines. The feet of the 

 Australian species are webbed, though those of 

 the Philippine form are not. The Gerbils form another group, mainly inhabitants of desert 

 district-. They have very large eyes, soft fur, and tails of various length and form in different 

 species. They have greatly developed hind legs, and leap like jerboas, and are found in Southern 

 Europe, Asia, and Africa. The Philippine Rats, large and long-haired, and the Tree-mice of 

 Africa south of the Sahara, form other groups. A very mischievous race of rodents i> repre- 

 sented in Europe by the Hamsters, and in America by a closely allied group, the White- 

 footed Mice. 



The Hamsters. 



The Hamster is a well-known European species, and represents the group of pouched rats. 



Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sent 



POCKET-GOPHER 



The pocket-gophers are almost entirely subterranean. Their 

 burrowing pozvers are remarkable. The teeth as well as claivs 

 are used to aid them 



