Preble's meadow jumping mouse

Description

The mouse is around nine inches long, 60% of which is the tail, and can jump in bounds of four feet when threatened. It usually travels slowly. It swims and climbs grass stems. It has long hind legs and a long, slender, scaly tail that it uses to communicate by making drumming noises. It also communicates using clucks and chirps.

The mice are born without hair (naked) and live nearly two years. They hibernate an estimated 7–8 months - from September or October through late May or early June - building themselves a soft vegetation nest, typically at a location with a northerly aspect. The Colorado breeding season is believed to be June through August, with two litters - in July and August - but there are records of three litters in a season. The average litter size is five, but can range from two to eight.

Meadow jumping mice like to eat mostly plants, insects, spiders, and slugs.

Health

In June 1998, a preble's meadow jumping mouse was found with a case of Myiasis. The mouse had been parasitized by five grey flesh flies. It is the first report of grey flesh fly Myiasis from the natural wildlife of Colorado.

Habitat

The Preble's meadow jumping mouse has been documented in eleven Wyoming and Colorado counties, as far north as Wyoming's Converse to Colorado's El Paso in the south. In Colorado, known habitat areas include the Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge, South Boulder Creek and the St. Vrain Valley. Since the devastating 2013 floods, the mouse has no longer been observed at Rocky Flats; in 2017, surveyors put out 200 traps a night for a week and caught no mice in an area where they had previously caught an average of 44. While South Boulder Creek populations are in decline, St. Vrain Creek mice are doing much better; post-flood restoration has enhanced the habitat with shrubs and trees.

References

References

1. NatureServe. (7 April 2023). "''Zapus hudsonius preblei''". NatureServe.
2. "Preble's meadow jumping mouse (''Zapus hudsonius preblei'')". U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.
3. {{Federal Register. 63. 26517
4. (June 2008). "The politics in environmental science: The Endangered Species Act and the Preble's mouse controversy". Environmental Politics.
5. "Preble's Meadow jumping mouse (Zapus hudsonius preblei)".
6. "Wyoming Species Account - Preble's Meadow Jumping Mouse - Zapus hudsonius preblei".
7. "Preble's Meadow Jumping Mouse - Assessing Habitat Quality For Priority Wildlife Species In Colorado Wetlands".
8. "Preble's meadow jumping mouse - Natural history".
9. (July 2002). "Grey flesh fly (Wohlfahrtia vigil) parasitism of a Preble's meadow jumping mouse (Zapus hudsonius preblei)". Journal of Wildlife Diseases.
10. Finley, Bruce. (2017-07-23). "Hunt for Preble's jumping mouse at Rocky Flats comes up empty". The Denver Post.
11. Lounsberry, Sam. (2018-09-10). "Preble's mouse, fish populations rebounding since flood".