Ornish dormouse: description, features of reproduction

To a large group of rodents is a small animal with an interesting name - a hazel dormouse. Zverek is found in almost all European countries except for Spain.

Description

Outwardly this small (its length is not more than 9 cm) rodent has a very large similarity with the squirrel. In addition to the size, it differs from it with small round ears and a characteristic brush at the tip of the tail. Zverek has a monochrome reddish-buffy coloration. Against this background, distinctly prominent convex dark eyes. Slightly blunted face is covered with a small fluff. A very long mustache with curved tips is constantly moving, feeling the surrounding space. They are especially well developed on the side of the nose and can reach up to 40% of the total length of the trunk.

Sonia populates predominantly mixed forests, dominated by trees such as oak, linden, mountain ash, as well as hips of wild rose, hazel, euonymus and Kalina.

Features

Orishnikovaya sleepwalk, the photo of which is placed in this article, like all representatives of this family, is a night animal, falling into hibernation for the winter. In advance he looks for a cozy and warm mink, located more often in the hollow of an old rotten tree or under the ground. In the period of hibernation, all life processes in the animal slow down, and the body temperature drops so that sometimes only one degree exceeds the ambient temperature. All this helps to stretch accumulated in autumn 10-15 grams of fat for a long winter.

The signal for awakening is the spring warming. But it happens that it is deceptive and immediately gives way to cold. This phenomenon is very dangerous for sleepers, since the energy consumption increases, and there is almost no reserve of fat. In such unfavorable periods, up to 70% of animals die.

Orishnikovaya dormouse is a collective animal. In a wintering nest, a whole company is usually arranged. This helps to keep the heat, and, therefore, increases the chances of survival.

Food

The favorite delicacy of this rodent are all kinds of nuts, acorns, rowan berries, guelder-rose, bird cherry, etc., a special weakness is experienced by the dormouse to the hazel, for which it was called hazel. She easily cope with the shell of nuts with the help of sharp front incisors.

In the diet of the animal there is only vegetative food. This is the hazel dormouse, the description of which is given above, differs from other representatives of the family. In the spring, it eats young shoots, leaves and buds of trees. In the autumn, in addition to berries and nuts, seeds of various plants are added to the menu.

A large amount of food absorbs this animal, preparing for hibernation. The weight of it increases almost twice as compared with the summer period. With the help of such stocks of fat, the hazel dormouse safely survives the long winter months.

Reproduction

In the spring, the nuptial period begins. After fertilization, the female starts to build a nest. It is usually located on the branches of a tree or a bush at a height of not less than 1-2 meters from the ground, sometimes in an old hollow. It happens that animals capture under their nest birdhouses or nests of small birds. The walls and the bottom of the chosen place are lined with soft grass and leaves. After about 27-30 days, naked and blind cubs appear here. Usually in the litter they are from three to five. His kids are nauseating dormant milk feeding for one month. By the end of the third week, the cubs are finally erupted, they cover themselves with a fuzz and are already starting to crawl out of the nest in search of food. After 40 days from the moment of birth, the animals begin an independent life, however, the sexual maturity of the sony is reached only after the first year of life.

During the summer period the female brings two offspring. Later litter remains for the winter in the nest together with adult individuals.

Limiting factors

Reduction of the population of these rodents in the European part of our country is caused by a number of factors related to human activity. The degradation of the natural forest, its transformation into plantations related to the park type, is quite poorly tolerated by many animals, including hazel dormouse. Photos of representatives of this species in nature become a rarity.

To the deterioration of the forage qualities of the forest leads the arrangement of picnics with bonfires. In urban forests there are fewer and fewer undisturbed oak forests. Reducing the number of animals is promoted by cutting down trees, sealing up the hollows, destroying the windfall and loose litter. Today, attention is paid to the maximum preservation of fodder and protective qualities of natural biocenoses. Helps rescue of such animals as hazel dormouse, the Red Book of the Moscow Region, where all the habitats of representatives of this species are noted.