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The Living Animals of the World 



THE DORMICE. 



There are a considerable number of animals, even in England, which hibernate. Most 

 of these feed largely on insect food, which in winter is unobtainable in any great quantity. 

 Consequently 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. But a dormouse hibernates for so long a time that one might imagine its 

 vitality entirely lost ; 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 arid 

 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 

 enemy at this time is the weasel. There are 

 two main groups of the dormice, divided by 

 naturalists in reference to the structure of their 

 stomach. The South African GRAPHIURES have 

 short tufted tails. The hibernating habit is 

 confined to the more northern species. 



THE MOUSE TRIBE. 



This family, which includes the MICE, RATS, 

 and VOLES, contains more than a third of the 

 number of the whole order of Rodents. Some 

 are arboreal, others aquatic ; but most are 

 ground-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 districts. 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 is represented in Europe by the HAMSTERS, and in the New 

 World by a closely allied group, the WHITE-FOOTED MICE. 



J'koto by A. S. Rudland & Sons. 



POCKET-GOPHER. 



The pocket-gophers are almost entirely subterranean. Their 

 burrowing powers are remarkable. The teeth as well as claws are 

 used to aid them. 



THE HAMSTERS. 

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



