FEATS OF THE JUMPING MOUSE 243 



JUMPING MOUSE FAMILY 



Zapodidae 



The Jumping Mouse 1 is one of the most remarkable of 

 all our small animals. In form it is a slender -bodied mouse, 

 with an exceedingly long tail, kangaroo-like hind legs, and 

 cheek-pouches. Its average length of head and body is about 

 3 inches, and tail 5 inches. In color it is dark reddish-brown 

 above, white underneath, with smooth compact hair. Al- 

 though no larger than a house mouse, it can jump from 

 eight to ten feet. 



When a farmer boy is hauling in sheaves of wheat, and 

 a small animal suddenly makes a tremendous flying leap from 

 the bottom of the shock, he may know that he has disturbed 

 a Jumping Mouse, and the chances are that he cannot cap- 

 ture it by hand. In these long jumps — perhaps the longest 

 on record for an animal of equal size — the tail is as necessary 

 as a stick is to a sky-rocket, to enable the little creature to 

 preserve its balance, and go straight ahead. If the tail is 

 cut off, the Jumping Mouse turns over and over in the air, 

 and perhaps lands upon its back. 



The Jumping Mouse is quite nocturnal in its habits, and 

 is seldom seen in the daytime. It feeds on seeds and grain, 

 and while it devours great quantities of weed seeds, it in- 

 flicts upon the farmer no damage worthy of mention. In 

 the autumn it stores in the ground quantities of food for 

 winter use, but despite this fact, under certain conditions it 

 becomes so thoroughly dormant in winter that it seems to 



1 Zojiii.s hudsonius. 



