![]() He was nine years and 209 days old…and counting. Last Wednesday, Pat earned a Guinness World Record as the world’s oldest known mouse. Even when being cared for by humans, they don’t usually live much longer than 7.5 years. In the wild, Pacific pocket mice usually only live for 3 to 5 years. SDZWA says that many of these mice will be released into the wild this year.īut Pat won’t be joining them. Last year at the zoo, 31 litters (groups of baby mice) were born, and there were 117 pups in all. Above, Debra Shier, one of the leaders of the Pacific pocket mouse program run by SDZWA stands with the award from Guinness in front of a picture of Pat. Pat was born on July 14, 2013, which made him nine years and 209 days old last Wednesday. In 2017, the numbers of mice in the park began growing without any help from humans. In 2016, the SDZWA and several other groups helped get a group of Pacific pocket mice started in a protected area called Laguna Coast Wilderness Park. Pat, whose birthday is July 14, 2013, was born in the first year of that program. Animals raised in captivity face fewer threats and often live longer. Starting in 2012, the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance (SDZWA) began working to help the mice by raising them in captivity. But these groups were a long way away from each other, and were often separated by things like roads and buildings. Later, they were able to find two other small groups of the mice. Scientists thought Pacific pocket mice were extinct until they found a small group of them in 1994.īut in 1994, scientists found a small group of Pacific pocket mice in Orange County, California. They used to be found all along the coast, from Los Angeles down to the US border with Mexico (see map above). Pacific pocket mice live in Southern California, close to the sea. By the 1970s, scientists believed that the Pacific pocket mouse had become extinct. Their digging underground also helps the plants grow.īut starting in the early 1930s, humans began taking up more and more of the area where the mice normally lived. The mice are an important part of the environment because they help spread the seeds of the plants that grow naturally in this sandy area. They used to be found all along the coast, from Los Angeles down to the US border with Mexico. They live in Southern California, usually within 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) of the sea. During the colder winter months, Pacific pocket mice hibernate in their burrows for much of the time. The mice make their nests in tunnels underground, called burrows. (Source: San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance.) He weighs about as much as three pennies. ![]() Pat is a Pacific pocket mouse, which is the smallest kind of mouse in North America. A tiny mouse named Pat (above) at the San Diego Zoo has set a new world record for the oldest known living mouse. These pouches are lined with fur, and are used by the mice to carry food and the material they need to make their nests. Pocket mice get their name from the special pouches they have on the outside of their cheeks. The mouse, named Pat, turned nine years and 209 days old last Wednesday. A tiny mouse at the San Diego Zoo has set a new world record for the oldest known living mouse.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |