Where do mice live in the wild? Mice: description and photos of wild and decorative representatives of the mouse family, types and breeds of these animals How mice behave in their natural environment

A mouse is a small animal that belongs to the class of mammals, the rodent order, the mouse family (lat. Muridae).

Mouse - description, characteristics and photo. What does a mouse look like?

The length of the body of a mouse covered with short hair, depending on the species, ranges from 5 to 19 cm, and doubles with the tail. These rodents have a rather short neck. On the pointed muzzle, small black beady eyes and small semicircular ears are visible, allowing mice to hear well. Thin and sensitive whiskers growing around the nose, give them the ability to perfectly navigate the environment. In mice, unlike, there are no cheek pouches.

The paws of the mouse are short with five tenacious fingers. The surface of the tail is covered with keratinized scales with sparse hairs. The color of the mouse is usually characterized by gray, brown or red tones, however, there are variegated and striped individuals, as well as white mice. Animals lead an active lifestyle in the evening or at night. They communicate with each other using a thin squeak.

Types of mice, names and photos.

The mouse family includes 4 subfamilies, 147 genera and 701 species, the most common of which are:

• (lat. Apodemus agrarius) reaches a size of 12.5 cm, not counting the tail, which can be up to 9 cm long. colors. The habitat of the field mouse includes Germany, Hungary, Switzerland, Poland, Bulgaria, the southern part of Western Siberia and Primorye, Mongolia, Taiwan, the Korean Peninsula and certain territories of China. This species of mice lives in wide meadows, in dense thickets of shrubs, city gardens and parks, and the shelter suits both in minks and in any natural shelters. In flooded areas, nests in bushes. Depending on the season, the diet may consist of seeds, berries, green parts of plants and various insects. The field mouse is the main pest of grain crops.

• (lat. Apodemus flavicollis) has a reddish-gray color and a light abdomen (sometimes with a small speck of yellow). The body size of adults reaches 10-13 cm, the tail has approximately the same length. The weight of the mouse is about 50 grams. This species of mice is widely distributed in the forests of Russia, Belarus, Moldova, Bulgaria, Ukraine, the Caucasus, the northern provinces of China and Altai. Yellow-throated mice settle on open edges in tree hollows or dug minks, but they can also live in stony placers. Their diet includes both plant and animal foods. Eating young seedlings of fruit trees, they cause significant harm to nurseries.

• Grass mouse (Nilotic grass mouse) (lat. Arvicanthis niloticus) is one of the largest representatives of the mouse family and can reach 19 cm in length, and together with the tail - 35 cm. The weight of individual large individuals exceeds 100 g. The fur of the back and sides is dark gray or grayish brown coloration with separate hard and prickly bristles of a darker shade. The color of the belly is light grey. This species of mice is most common in African countries, where they live in bushes, forests and savannahs. As a refuge, grass mice choose abandoned termite mounds or dig holes on their own, but on occasion they can penetrate into human habitation. The basis of the diet of mice is plant foods.

• (lat. Micromys minutus) is one of the smallest rodents in the world. The body length of an adult animal does not exceed 7 cm, the tail is 6.5 cm, and the weight of the baby does not exceed 10 g. The back and sides are solid and have a reddish-brown or brown color, in contrast to the light gray, almost white belly. The muzzle of baby mice is short and blunt, with small ears. The distribution range of this species of mice stretches from west to east from the northwestern provinces of Spain to Korea and Japan, in the south to Kazakhstan, China and the northern regions of Mongolia. The mouse lives in forest and forest-steppe zones, in meadows with tall grass. In the summer, mice use nests twisted in the grass as a refuge, and winter in minks, haystacks, residential or outbuildings of a person. The basis of the diet of baby mice is the seeds of cereals and legumes, as well as small insects. Often they settle near granaries, causing great harm to agriculture.

• (lat. Mus musculus) is the most common species on the planet from the rodent family. The body length of an adult mouse does not exceed 9.5 cm, and together with the tail - 15 cm. The weight of the mouse is 12-30 g. The color of the fur on the sides and back is gray with a brown tint, and on the abdomen from light gray to white. Individuals living in desert areas have a sandy color. The muzzle of the mouse is sharp with small rounded ears. The area of ​​distribution of this species of mice does not include only the territory of the Far North, Antarctica and high mountain regions. House mice live in all types of landscapes and natural areas, very often they penetrate into household and residential buildings of a person. Under natural conditions, minks dig on their own, although they can also occupy dwellings abandoned by other rodents. They feed on seeds and succulent green parts of plants, and when they enter a person’s house, they consume everything that gets into their teeth - from bread and sausages to paraffin candles.

• (lat. Lemniscomys striatus) is a small rodent: body length 10-15 cm, intermittent stripes of light colors are visible along the back and along the sides. Under natural conditions, striped mice rarely live more than 6-7 months, in captivity they live two to three times longer. The menu of these individuals includes mainly vegetable “dishes”: root crops, non-hard seeds, juicy fruits, and occasionally small insects.

• (akomis) (lat. Acomys) - a rather cute representative of the mouse family, the owner of huge eyes and the same large ears. The size of the spiny mouse, together with the tail, is 13-26 cm, the back of the animal is covered with thin needles, like a normal one. Amazing Feature these animals - regeneration: in case of danger, the mouse is able to shed a piece of skin, leaving the attacker at a loss. The skin is quickly restored without harm to the individual. spiny mouse lives in Asia, is found in Cyprus and Africa. In food, it focuses on plant foods; this animal is often kept as a pet.

Where does the mouse live?

The distribution area of ​​mice covers almost all climatic zones, zones and continents of the globe. Mouse representatives can be found in tropical thickets, conifers or deciduous forests, steppe expanses and desert, on mountain slopes or in swampy areas. Mice also live in people's homes.

Mice can make nests from grass stems, occupy abandoned burrows, or dig complex systems of underground passages. Unlike species that live in swamps, mountain, steppe, and forest mice are poor swimmers.

What does a mouse eat?

The basis of the diet of mice is plant foods: grass seeds, fruits of trees or shrubs and cereals (oats, barley, millet, buckwheat). Mice that live in swampy areas, in wet and flooded meadows, feed on leaves, buds or flowers of plants and shrubs. Some species of mice prefer protein supplement as insects, worms, beetles, spiders

AT hibernation the mouse does not run in and can move under the snow crust without appearing on the surface. To survive the cold, she has to create solid food stocks in pantries arranged near the entrance to the mink.

For some, a small gray animal causes disgust, for others, tenderness. But whether a person wants it or not, the mouse is his constant companion. So why not get to know this animal better. How long do mice live? How do they triple their dwellings? What do they eat and how do they reproduce? How to choose a pet and provide it comfortable conditions?

• Class: Mammals;
• Order: Rodents;
• Suborder: Mouse-like;
• Family: Mice;
• Subfamily: Mouse.

Mouse - description and external characteristics

All over the earth, excluding the extreme northern and high mountain regions, these small rodents are distributed. The closest relatives of mice are jerboas, mole rats, hamsters and dormice. And in a more distant relationship are rats, chinchillas, porcupines, beavers, guinea pigs. In total, the Mouse subfamily unites 121 genera and more than 300 species.

The mouse is a medium-sized animal with an elongated and pointed muzzle, large rounded ears and bulging beady eyes. Long, bald or slightly feathered tail - distinguishing feature animal. The limbs, which are not the same in length, are adapted for digging, moving along vertical and horizontal surfaces. The body length of a rodent can vary from 3 to 20 cm, weight - from 15 to 50 g.

Mice have a special bite. On the lower and upper jaws, the animal has 2 chisel-shaped teeth that grow continuously. Rodents are forced to constantly grind them down, which is why their incisors are very sharp.

Animals from the Mice family are different good eyesight and can distinguish between red and yellow hues. The habitual body temperature of these rodents ranges from 37.5 to 39⁰С. The maximum lifespan of mice is 4 years.

How mice behave in their natural environment

In order for rodents to maintain a constant body temperature, they need to be active in winter and summer, day and night. Gluttony and fussiness for mice - character traits helping to survive and leave offspring.

In autumn, the animals begin to collect provisions in a mink or on the surface of the ground, where the "warehouse" is masked by earth. And if in the off-season rodents are awake at night and sleep during the day, then in winter time activity is maintained around the clock. In spring and autumn, when there is no lack of food and temperature fluctuations, mice actively breed.

Mice live in large families, since together it is easier for them to defend themselves, get food, build dwellings, and raise offspring. In a mouse flock there is a leader who maintains order in the group. Female mice are peaceful. But young males do not always put up with their subordinate position. The stomping of the hind legs and aggressive tail strikes indicate the intention of the animal to win the “throne”. Inter-family clashes can lead to the disintegration of the pack.

In burrows, mice spend most of their time raising their offspring, escaping from danger, storing food or resting after eating it. The maximum depth of the hole is 70 cm, and the total length of passages can reach 20 m. Some species of mice build nests in thickets of tall grasses (baby mouse) or live in tree roots and old stumps ( wood mouse).

Minks are temporary and permanent, and the latter can be summer and winter. Temporary animal dwellings are planned simply. The permanent mouse burrow has a spacious nesting chamber and several entrances. In summer burrows, where rodents give birth to children, bedding is made of fluff, blades of grass, shavings and feathers. And in winter - a pantry for food supplies is arranged.

What does a mouse eat in nature?

In summer and autumn, when the time comes for the harvest to ripen, the mice begin to actively prepare food supplies for the winter. The main food of animals is cereals, as well as seeds of various plants. Field mice love wheat, barley, oats, buckwheat.

Rodents living in forests feed on cedar nuts, hazel, maple, beech seeds, acorns, and small insects. And animals living near water bodies prefer to eat leaves, roots and stems of plants, berries, grasshoppers, caterpillars, larvae, spiders and other invertebrates. House mice living close to people readily adapt to the human diet and eat bread, meat, dairy products, and sweets.

Animals living in the wild drink very little. The mouse body independently produces water by breaking down food. Additional sources of moisture are the fleshy leaves of plants, fruits, vegetables.

Mouse Enemies

The mouse is a key link in the food chain of many ecosystems. Many wild animals depend on the existence of this small rodent. For mice living in the forest, the main enemies are foxes, martens, arctic foxes, ferrets, ermines, weasels, lynxes and even wolves. Predators easily break holes and can eat up to 30 small animals per day.

Mice are the main food for snakes and large lizards. Such reptiles as a boa constrictor, python, viper, radiant snake swallow the victim whole. During the hunt, the snake freezes, and then abruptly pounces on the victim, biting it with poisonous teeth, and then waits for the animal to become motionless.

From above, mice are also in danger. Among the birds there are predators that differ in the power of their beak, visual acuity and hearing. These are owls, buzzards, hawks, eagles, owls, kites. They hunt during the day or at night, making swift attacks from the air.

The life expectancy of rodents directly depends on environmental conditions. The average indicator is 2-3 years. Factors such as climate, nutrition, infectious diseases and attacks by wild animals have the greatest influence on the lifespan of animals.

For mice, both frost and dry, hot weather can become fatal. Too sharp fluctuations in temperature destroy numerous colonies of rodents. Often associated with the weather and the ability to fully eat. An inadequate diet significantly shortens the life of a mouse.

Many species of mice that live away from humans live a little less than or more than a year. And an animal tamed by a person, receiving a balanced diet and care, can live up to 6 years.

reproduction in mice

The mouse is a polygamous animal. In nature, one male fertilizes from 2 to 12 females. For 12 months, mice have from 3 to 8 broods. The female reaches sexual maturity 10 weeks after birth. At this time, she begins estrus, which lasts 5 days and is expressed in a special behavior.

If, after coating, the female failed to become pregnant, a new estrus occurs within a week. In case of successful fertilization, after 17-24 days, the female animal is expected to give birth. In one litter there are from 3 to 9 cubs. Mouse females give birth at night. Babies, having been born, are not able to move, hear and see. They do not have hairline, and the size ranges from 2 to 3 cm. The mice develop rapidly:

• 3 days - a fluff appears on the body;
• 5 days - cubs begin to hear;
• 7 days - the body weight of the animal doubles;
• Day 14 - palpebral fissures erupt;
• Day 19 - mice begin to eat on their own;
• Day 25 - the length of the calf reaches 500 mm (the tail is shorter by 15-20 mm) and the mouse is already sexually mature.

Decorative mice develop a little more slowly. It is recommended to mate them no more than 2-3 times a year. Multiple births exhaust the female, and each subsequent offspring becomes weaker.

Types of wild mice

Shrew or shrew mouse (Myosorex)

Animals from the Shrew family are divided into only 14 species. This mouse with a long nose is small in size (6-10 cm). Only born cubs weigh less than 1 g. The nose of the animal, curved at the end, is called the proboscis. The coat of the animal is shiny, thick, silky; happens gray, ocher, reddish shades.

A mouse with a long cute nose orients itself in space thanks to its sense of smell. She is an omnivore, but prefers to eat insects, as well as some vertebrates (frogs, baby rodents, small reptiles). Without food, this animal can live no more than 10 hours.

White-toothed shrews live in large clusters in South America, Africa, Australia. This little mouse with a long nose feels great near bodies of water, during moist forests and low growths.

Japanese mouse (Sylvaemus mystacinus)

A mouse with large round ears and a long nose. It is also called Asia Minor. Inhabits the islands of Japan, the south-west of Georgia, as well as the Kuril Islands of Russia. Prefers highlands mixed forests, with dense shrubby undergrowth.

Japanese mice do not dig holes, inhabiting voids in trees and buildings, accumulations of stones and dense bushes. The length of the body and tail are almost equal (up to 13 cm). They breed only 6 warm months a year, during which time they give 2-3 litters of 3-6 cubs.

wood mouse (Sylvaemus sylvaticus)

A distinctive feature of the animal is a yellow round spot on the breast. The length of the rodent is 12 cm, the tail is 7-10 cm. These mice can occupy abandoned burrows, rotten stumps, voids under stones and other natural shelters. The wood mouse is especially common in Siberia, Western Asia, Altai, in the deciduous forests of Ukraine, Belarus, and Moldova. It feeds on cereals, seeds, nuts, and insects.

Mouse gerbil (Gerbillidae)

In the family of Mouse gerbils, they are distinguished into a separate subfamily, numbering more than 100 species of animals. The natural range of these animals is the arid steppes of Eastern Europe, African and Asian deserts and semi-deserts. They are active during the daytime; in winter they do not hibernate, but their lifestyle becomes more lethargic.

Outwardly, the gerbil mouse looks more like a rat. The length of the animal can reach 20 cm, and the weight is 250 g. The color of the animal is brownish-sandy on the back, and lighter on the chest. A well-furred long tail falls off in dangerous situations, a new one does not grow. The gerbil mouse can walk on its hind legs and jump over long distances (up to 4 m). It feeds on grains of wheat, barley, corn, millet, as well as fruits and nuts.

Baby mouse (Micromys minutus)

The genus name is associated with miniature size animal. The maximum length of the animal's body is 7 cm, and the tail is 5 cm. The animal prefers to live in the steppe and forest-steppe, in grain fields, in floodplain meadows. Among the grass, you can find spherical houses of this rodent, made of dry stems and leaves.

The baby mouse is distinguished by the fiery red color of the skin, which appears after the first molt. It feeds on invertebrates, green leaves, grains. The baby mouse is peaceful, quickly adapts to a new environment, so it can be tamed by people.

White mouse (Mus musculus)

It is also called a house or house mouse, because the animal has adapted to live next to a person. In living quarters, sheds, pantries, these rodents hide complex, multi-channel burrows, where they live in extensive colonies. Not far from the burrows, they arrange storage for food: seeds, nuts, crackers, pieces of vegetables.

The white mouse is not a large animal, its length reaches 8-11 cm. The long tail is covered with sparse hair, scaly rings are clearly visible on it. The color of the skin of the animal depends on the species, but on the back the pile is darker than on the stomach. The house mouse lives on all continents, in all climatic zones and is a faithful companion of man.

Grass Mouse (Arvicanthis)

The length of the body of an individual, together with the tail, can exceed 30 cm. Gray or brown wool consists of elongated soft hairs and stiff bristles, as well as hard spiked hairs in certain types. The rhythm of their life is similar to the human one - they are awake during the day and sleep at night.

Homeland of grass mice - South East Africa. These rodents love moisture, and live mainly in river floodplains, in humid tropical plantations. They can both dig holes and occupy other people's dwellings.

Field Mouse (Apodemus agrarius)

The field mouse is not like other rodents of the Mouse family. The animal has a clear, contrasting color stripe on the skin, which runs along the entire spine, from the muzzle to the warp of the tail. The size of the animal varies from 8 to 12 cm without a tail. The color, depending on the species, can vary from light gray to dark brown and black. The field mouse builds a dwelling on its own, or uses suitable structures.

The field mouse inhabits the territories of Western and Northern Europe, as well as part of Asia: China, Sakhalin, Taiwan. The animal loves meadows and fields, in deciduous thickets, but is also found in the city. The field mouse feeds on invertebrate insects, cereals, plant stems and fruits.

House mouse: pet choice

Decorative mice are friendly, not aggressive, clean, quickly get used to the owners, and it is very easy to care for them. When choosing an animal, you should pay attention to the habits and appearance of the rodent. An animal with good health looks like this:

• wool does not stick out, there are no bald patches;
• teeth are white, even;
• the animal has moist and shiny eyes;
• the animal does not have mucous discharge from the nostrils and eyes;
• the mouse is actively moving and eating.

Do not forget about how many years mice live. The maximum lifespan of these animals is 3-4 years, so it is better to choose a pet under the age of 12 months. It is necessary to pay attention to the gender of the rodent, since several males will not get along in one dwelling.

Males are slightly larger than females, their body resembles an elongated pear. A 30-day-old male mouse has shaped testicles under the tail. And in the female, from the 3rd day after birth, 5 pairs of rudimentary nipples are clearly visible.

A domestic mouse is a collective animal, so it is better to purchase several individuals. If further breeding of animals is planned, then before mating, males and females must be kept separately.

Thanks to modern breeding, decorative mice have hundreds of species, among which there are singing, waltzing, and animals with an unusual coat color (white albino mice, pure black mice, ashen and cream animals).

Some types of mice are especially popular:

• Japanese pygmy mouse- very miniature, up to 5 cm long. White skin is decorated with black and brown spots. Friendly, clean and energetic. Leads a nocturnal lifestyle. There are mice in the litter of 5-7.
• The spiny mouse or akomis is a large decorative mouse with many needles located along the entire back. Color reddish-brown or blackish-red. The neck is framed by a voluminous fat hump. The nose is elongated, the eyes are convex, the ears are large, oval in shape. The mouse is very active, quickly gets used to people.
• Decorative African striped mouse - has an interesting coloration: light and dark stripes alternate along the body. Doesn't come from the animal bad smell. It climbs well on vertical surfaces. The striped mouse is a very shy animal. In case of danger, it can pretend to be dead or jump to a height of up to 2.5 m. The body length rarely exceeds 10 cm.

Care and maintenance of mice at home

A house where decorative mice live can be a cage, an aquarium, a transparent plastic box. For a small number of animals, a dwelling measuring 25 * 45 * 22 cm is enough. The bottom of the terrarium is covered with sawdust from fruit trees or a hygienic filler made of corn, paper, straw. To change the litter decorative rodents need at least 1 time per week, but better every 3 days. From above, the terrarium is covered with a lid with holes for oxygen to enter.

Inside the house, several shelters are equipped, preferably at different heights. All types of mice are very active and run in natural environment up to 40 km per day, so the terrarium should have a running wheel. You can supply water to rodents through a hinged drinker or pour it into a small saucer.

The decorative mouse is an animal that easily catches colds and overheats. It is better to put the animal's house away from the window, protect the cage from drafts and bright sunlight. The ideal temperature for these rodents is 20-22⁰С.

What do decorative mice eat

All animals from the Mouse family are prone to obesity, so you need to know what a decorative mouse eats. The basis of the diet of the animal are cereals: barley, wheat, corn, sorghum. The grain must not be ground. Usually, house mice are very small and eat up to 1 tsp per day. stern.

The favorite delicacy of the animals are sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, caraway seeds, walnuts, peanuts and hazelnuts. Vegetables and fruits are necessary in the diet of the animal. It is better if the vegetables are green: cauliflower, lettuce, cucumber, zucchini, broccoli, parsley. And fruits are not very sweet and juicy: apple, banana, quince, pear, plum. Bread and egg white can be given occasionally.

What mice do not eat: citrus fruits, smoked meats, meat, food for cats and dogs.

Varieties of wild rodents have long been considered enemies of man. Mouse vole harms plantings of grain crops. The house mouse contaminates products with feces and urine, makes books, clothes, and interior items unusable. Many types of mice carry infectious diseases: salmonellosis, hepatitis, encephalitis, toxoplasmosis, false tuberculosis and others.

But mice also bring significant benefits to humans. Cosmetologists and doctors have been using mice to conduct all sorts of experiments for more than one century. This is due to the extraordinary fecundity of rodents and the similarity of the human and mouse genomes.

Zoologists grow special fodder mice for pythons, agamas, boas, geckos, snakes, ferrets, owls and cats. Sometimes decorative rodents are used for such purposes, which are sold to pet stores.

AT ancient greece the white mouse was considered a sacred animal. Thousand colonies of animals lived in the temples. They were the heroes of legends and myths. They thought that the white mouse helps the oracles see the future, and the active reproduction of animals promised prosperity and a good harvest. The black mouse was considered a product of dirt and was subject to extermination.

In Japan, they believed that a white mouse brings happiness. See the place where the colony of rodents lives - good sign, and a dead mouse meant grief. The Chinese considered this animal a symbol of wisdom and honesty. And among the ancient Persians and Egyptians, on the contrary, both the white and black mice were endowed with destructive, evil power. They associated the invasions of rodents with the intrigues of the terrible god Ahriman.

Cats appeared in the human house due to the dominance of harmful rodents. Even 6 thousand years ago, people began to feed wild cats, and those, in turn, began to protect their food supplies. But even now mice for domestic cat remain a favorite pastime. This long-standing enmity is the basis of many fairy tales, songs, cartoons, and proverbs. In the age of the Internet, special videos for cats appeared. The mouse on the screen for a domestic cat becomes an occasion to remember their hunting instincts.

• Mice don't like cheese at all. Rather, animals will prefer whole grains or seeds. The favorite delicacy for these little rodents is smoked lard. It is he who is often used as bait in a mousetrap.
• Just one year - that's how long a male marsupial mouse lives. Nature gave these animals only 2 weeks to breed. After mating, which lasts 10-13 hours, the male dies to give life to his babies.
• Of great importance in communication between mice is smell. With the help of "odorous" marks (from feces, urine, secretions from the glands), rodents delimit the territory, orient themselves in space, and transmit information to each other. Each mouse family has its own unique smell, which speaks of the animal's genetic makeup.
• Cheerful goggle-eyed mouse, restless baby - the constant heroine of the modern multimedia world. Fun tablet and phone games offer to catch the mouse on the screen; for a domestic cat, this can become a real drug, and for its owner, it can be a reason to laugh heartily.

Mice are the smallest rodents on the planet, bringing people both benefit and harm. They spoil crop stocks and are peddlers dangerous infections. But the use of mice in scientific research helps save lives.

Diverse in appearance and lifestyle, mice are often easy prey for predatory reptiles, birds, and mammals. Because of this, animals rarely live long life. Small size, calm temperament and funny behavior allow these rodents to be kept as pets. Animals that are lucky enough to become human favorites live much longer than their wild relatives.

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Mouse family (Muridae)

Mammals / Rodents / Muridae / Mammalia / Rodentia / Muridae

The family unites animals that are very diverse in size, appearance and lifestyle. The sizes of mice are from small to large: body length is 5--48 cm. The tail of the majority exceeds half the body. It is usually covered with ring-shaped horny scales, between which sparse short hairs protrude. Cheek pouches are absent in most species. The chewing surfaces of the cheek teeth are usually tuberculate, and on the upper teeth the tubercles are located in 3 longitudinal rows, although the 1st row (extreme) is represented by only one tubercle. Most species have rooted cheek teeth.

Mouse - one of the most numerous not only in the detachment of rodents, but also among mammals in general. In terms of the number of genera and species, mice are second only to hamsters, uniting about 105 genera and more than 400 species. Smaller members of the family are called mice, larger ones are called rats. Mice and rats have a unique ability to adapt to any habitat conditions, which allowed them to spread all over the world, except for Antarctica. Traveling with a man in the holds of ships, rodents got to the most remote oceanic islands. There they created a serious competitive species animals, taking away their food, and often the life of their cubs.

forest crumbs

Small mice-babies live in the forests and forest-steppes of Europe and Asia. These crumbs grow up to 7 cm, their tail is almost equal to the length of the body, with which the mouse clings to the blades of grass that it climbs. The baby mice are so small that they climb the spikelet as if it were a tree trunk, and the stem does not bend under their weight. Having reached the grains, they proceed to the meal. Babies are picky in their choice of food. In addition to seeds, they also feed on the green parts of the plant, eat mushrooms, worms, spiders, insect larvae, steal bird eggs and do not disdain carrion. Haystacks, grassy hummocks and other secluded places serve as their home. Sometimes, settling among tall grasses, babies build cozy nests for themselves. The mouse, climbing on the stalks of herbs or bushes to a height of 30 cm to a meter, begins to cook construction material. Gently gnawing off the blades of grass, the mouse cuts them into even stripes and, sitting on its hind legs, begins to weave a nest. So, quietly, on a fork in the branches of a bush or between several blades of grass, a spherical nest appears with a small entrance on the side. In this nest, the mother mouse gives birth to 3-4 babies who will not leave their parental home for another month.

house mouse

Similar grass nests are also made by other mice: Philippine marsh mice and New Guinea banana rats. Banana rats are interesting because their females carry newborn rats on their belly. Scientists even initially believed that the banana rat was a marsupial.

The house mouse (Mus musculus) is small.

Mammals / Rodents / Mouse / HOUSE MOUSE Mammalia / Rodentia / Muridae / Mus musculus

Body length 7-10 cm, tail (covered with ring-shaped horny scales and sparse short hair) is 50-100% of body length. The color of the fur of the desert forms is light, yellowish-sandy, with a pure white underparts, while the coloration of the northern form is the well-known "mouse gray" on the back and sides and light gray on the underside. The domesticated mouse is white.

The range of the house mouse has become almost universal (cosmopolitan). She was not in Antarctica, but one can hardly say for sure that now she is absent there. Habitats within the worldwide range vary. They differ in direct proportion to the latitudinal (geographical) zones and altitudinal zones (in mountainous regions). The homeland of the house mouse was most likely the desert oases North Africa and Western Asia, where she lives now; in addition, it is known in the fossil state. in deserts and southern semi-deserts Central Asia and South Kazakhstan, house mice live in the same way as in their ancient homeland - in the deserts of North Africa. confined to oases. The attachment of mice to water bodies is very clear. House mice hide in burrows. Their burrows are small and simple: with a nesting chamber located at a depth of 20–30 cm and usually with one exit. But they prefer to settle in the burrows of other rodents: the Trans-Caspian voles, mole voles, gerbils, etc. They usually occupy free or unvisited parts of residential burrows. Often they even settled in residential houses of nezokia. For some reason, this vicious rodent treats house mice kindly. House mice also settle in human residential buildings, but they do not show much affection for them. Mice at any time of the year can settle in buildings and leave them. Mass autumn migrations of mice to buildings in the desert zone were not observed. Mice breed in the desert zone throughout the warm period from March to November. During this time, 2-3 offspring are brought, from 2-3 to 9-10 (usually 5-6) Cubs in each. In heated buildings, they also breed in winter. In the steppe and in the north of the semi-desert zone, house mice live differently. They do not gravitate to water bodies here, they do not settle close to the water's edge, they leave flooded places. They settle in large numbers in the fields, where they move depending on the crop, the phenology of its vegetation, maturation, harvesting, plowing, etc. They live differently in different parts of the steppe ona. In the steppes of Ukraine to the east of the left bank of the Dnieper, in Moldavia, on the Hungarian lowland, a special ecological form lives, called the “barrow mouse”. At the end of summer, they form mixed aggregations of 15 to 25-30 individuals of different sexes and ages, which arrange a complex collective season with a large common nesting chamber and a special chamber-toilet. Before the start of the device, the burrows vigorously collect large food supplies for the winter from ears, panicles, and large seeds. Stocks of mound mice (like other rodents) are not dragged into holes, but are piled on the surface of the earth above the hole. Panicles and ears of different plants (weeds and cultivated) they stack separately. When the pyramid of reserves becomes large - up to 10-15 kg, the animals cover it from above with leaves, and then with earth. First, the earth thrown to the surface during the construction of a collective hole is used, and then the earth is taken from the annular trench to around the collected reserves. This is how a hillock is formed, not a “barrow”, as it is called, but a real mound up to 60–80 cm high and up to 2 m long. The thickness of the earthen roof over the reserves reaches 20-25 cm. To the base of the pyramid of reserves are laid out from the nesting chamber, through which mice penetrate to the reserves without leaving the surface. If a mound with supplies is destroyed, for example, during autumn plowing, then mice do not build another mound. Kurganchik and house mice in Ukraine belong to the same subspecies because of their morphological identity. (In recent years, species differences have been shown between house and mound mice. They interbreed and give normal offspring. Mound mice that have lost their mounds become indistinguishable from house mice. In the Lower Dnieper region and on the Kerch Peninsula, according to long-term observations of experienced zoologists, in some years, house mice build mounds, in others they don't.Such inconstancy has nothing to do with speciation.

Since ancient times, man has tamed wild animals, benefiting from their maintenance and breeding. But there are willow animals that entered the human house without asking, took root and, without bringing any benefit, learned to steal food from the owners and destroy the crop. This is the house mouse. Throughout the history of mankind, people have been fighting this annoying neighbor, but the results of this struggle are negligible. A small nimble mouse easily finds shelter in any crack, and she is not afraid of the cold, there would be food. Even in winter, in an unheated hut, house mice successfully breed, bringing 3-4 litters of 6-10 cubs each year. So, in a year, one mouse produces up to 40 small voracious pests. Therefore, even if the owner managed to somehow exterminate the mice in the house, a couple of settlers from the neighboring hut will quickly restore their livestock.

Other mice

We imagine mice as small animals with round ears, a long bald tail in an unsightly gray fur coat. However, among the mice there are very extravagantly colored individuals. These are the striped mice that live in Africa. Their body is painted with longitudinal stripes, and the tail is covered with rather thick short hair. It is also surprising that among mice there are animals that, like hedgehogs, have acquired thorns. These are the spiny mice that live on the islands of Crete and Cyprus, in Asia Minor, in Saudi Arabia and in Africa. Their backs are literally studded with numerous sharp needles, mixed with fur.

In Australia, jerboa mice live, which are more likely not like mice, but like jerboas and, when in a hurry, quickly jump on their hind elongated legs. These mice go out at night in search of food: leaves, seeds, berries, and spend the day in deep complex burrows, which they dig themselves.

Eternal enemies of man

Since time immemorial, rats have brought death to the world, spreading terrible infections such as plague and typhus. In 1347, black rats, carriers of plague fleas, brought the “black death” to Europe, and the most terrible plague epidemic in the history of mankind began, which claimed about a third of the population of Europe.

Every year, rats devour 1/5 of the world's grain crop. The appetites of these rodents can be judged by the volumes of supplies found in their burrows: gray rats (pasyuki) drag several buckets of potatoes, carrots, nuts from the cellars into their shelters, steal prepared dumplings, cheeses, sausages in kilograms, steal eggs right from under hens, accumulating up to 3 dozen pieces in their cells.

black rat

The life span of rats is quite short: from a year to two and a half years, but these animals are unusually prolific. A female gray rat can bring the first offspring at the age of 4-5 months, and she will bring 2-3 litters per year, up to 17 pups in each. Biologists have calculated that the offspring of only one pair of rats per year can reach 15 thousand individuals. Of course, a significant part of them die, otherwise the rats for a very short term would fill the whole earth.

There are about 68 species in the genus of true rats. It is the most representative genus among mammals. Real rats are ubiquitous, but not all of them are as closely adjacent to people as the pasyuk rat and the black rat. "Wild" rats live in mountain forests, in river valleys in tropical and subtropical zones. They can climb trees, swim well, build nests in trees and dig holes.

The largest number of species is concentrated in Southeast Asia. Gray rats also came to Europe from the East. This happened in the 16th century, and they penetrated into North America only in the second half of the 18th century. "Wild" rats, such as small, mountain, Malaysian and others, do not bring significant harm to people. On the contrary, they have a lot of benefits: rats destroy harmful insects, and they themselves are food for a number of predators.

Rat ( Rattus norvegicus)

The rat (Rattus norvegicus) in the literature is called the gray rat, pasyuk, brown rat, red and barn rat. "Gray rat" among these names prevails, although it is inaccurate. The color of the fur is not gray, but brownish-brown. Rarely, but there were black pasuks (in Moscow, for example, one black pasyuk accounted for 1-2 thousand normally colored ones). Domesticated (laboratory) pasyuki are white with red eyes, variegated (black and white), and geneticists have brought out several color variations. The size is somewhat larger than the black and Turkestan rats. The length of the tail reaches about 80% of the body length. The ear is relatively short: it is about half the length of the foot. The range of the gray rat has become almost cosmopolitan. The rat is absent so far in Antarctica and on some islands of the high Arctic. And its homeland is in the southern regions of East Asia, which include Indochina, the eastern provinces of China, the Korean Peninsula and the southern regions of Primorsky Krai. From there, the gray rat spread throughout the world. Settled partly on its own, more often - with the assistance of man. Settlement on foot went only along the river valleys, and crossings were made mainly on various river and sea transport, from boats and barges to modern sea liners and submarines. By other modes of transport (by rail and highways, by planes), it moved much less frequently. For example, the Central Asian Railway began operating in 1885. It starts from Krasnovodsk, which has been densely populated with gray rats since the middle of the last century. She lives there not only in the buildings of the seaport, but throughout the city, including the buildings of the railway complexes, warehouses, station, residential buildings. But for more than 100 years, there has not been a single railway crossing of gray rats from Krasnovodsk to Ashgabat, Mary or Chardzhou.

The means of resettlement of rats have not only biological, but also often practical significance. Rats are brought into any river and sea port regularly (in every navigation), so it is imperative to have a promptly and efficiently operating control (quarantine, anti-plague) station. Such stations have been operating in the ports of Odessa, Batumi, St. Petersburg, Vladivostok and others for many decades. And at railway stations, even large ones, such stations are not needed. The exception is subways. In the trunks of the metro rats settle willingly and actively (2-3 weeks before the opening of the movement) and live there in large numbers. They use subway cars, and they move along the trunks regularly and over long distances for many kilometers. The migratory activity of gray rats in the city is also of great practical interest. It manifests itself in different ways. In the cities where gray rats entered for the first time, their resettlement is very fast. So, at the beginning of the century, the settlement of Barnaul by rats was accurately traced, the year of arrival the rats settled only in the buildings of the pier, on the second - they occupied the quarters bordering the pier, on the third - they reached the center. In the fourth year they occupied the entire city, and in the fifth year they began to settle in suburban villages. Approximately at the same rate, the gray rat settled Tashkent, where it was brought in 1942. In four years, it occupied the whole, and in the fifth year it went to suburban villages. The gray rats that have settled in the cities of buildings located far from the exits from the daily buildings become very canned food, "attached" to the house in which they were born and raised.

Rats move into new buildings only through open entrance doors (especially at night) and through ventilation openings in the basement and first floors. Sealing of ventilation openings with metal mesh and automatic closing entrance doors for many years make the new building inaccessible to rats.

The diet of the gray rat is varied. In natural biotopes, it lives only along the banks of water bodies (in burrows). It feeds on coastal plants and animals: terrestrial mollusks, insects, etc. Pasyuki often and willingly swim, dive, stay in the water column for a long time and even catch Prey there: mollusks, swimmers and small fish. Animal feed is preferred over vegetable feed. For semi-aquatic life, the gray rat has swimming membranes between the bases of the toes of its hind legs. On ships and in land buildings, pasyuki eat all the food that is stored there, and everything that people eat. But of all the variety, animal products are preferred, including raw fish and meat. In refrigerators where meat carcasses are stored (at -17 °C), eating only raw meat, they multiply intensively and grow rapidly. The reproduction of gray rats is of great practical interest. Previously, it was known that in natural biotopes rats breed in the warm seasons of the year, and those living in buildings - all year round. It was assumed that in the buildings rats bring up to 8 offspring per year; the average number of embryos is 8-10, more than in other types of mouse-like rodents. Females reach sexual maturity at about 3 months of age. But up to 6 months, when everyone was already clearly sexually mature, only about 1% of females start breeding. In the next 6 months, another 7% of females begin to breed. And 92% of females remain barren until the age of one. The older the females become, the higher their fecundity - the number of cubs in one offspring and the number of offspring in a year. The gestation period of the gray rat lasts 21-22 days. For the share of one sexually mature females there are 2.2 offspring per year, or about 17-18 pups for each pair of sires. Out of 9 pairs of rat cubs born during the year, only 1 pair will start breeding, and then only at the very end of the year. Caution (a suspicious attitude towards everything that a person offers) - biologically (and practically) important feature gray rats.

Pasyukov's caution has been known for a long time. .Rats are difficult to fight. Traps, mousetraps and other human tricks do not work on them. Rats live in groups of 5-15 individuals. If one member of the group dies in a mousetrap, the rats inform each other about the danger, and no one will fall for this trick a second time. The same will happen with the planted poison: the rats will remember why their relative died, and will no longer touch the bait. Rats have developed resistance to many deadly poisons. Droughts, floods, lethal doses of radiation for most animals - all this is not a degree of caution for rats, the English ecologist D. Chitty accidentally found out in 1941. He decided to conduct a count without catches, which did not reflect the actual number of pasyukov, according to the weight of the bait eaten. He poured pre-weighed wheat into plywood boxes with slits in the side walls and placed the boxes in the places where he decided to conduct counts. The first check the next day struck with an unexpected result: in all the boxes of rats, of which there were many, the wheat was not touched. On the 2nd day of the experiment they did not touch the wheat again. On the 3rd day, only a few grams were eaten, on the 4th - a little more. Only on the 8-9th day, the pasyuki ate almost all the wheat offered to them (up to 3.5 kg in each box). To successfully catch rats, it is necessary to overcome their suspicion, accustom them to harmless bait and to the sight of unguarded traps. In places where there was no partial catch of gray rats, preliminary feeding and accustoming to unguarded traps should be carried out for at least 6–7 days, and in places where rats were partially caught, at least 10–12 days. At the beginning of complementary feeding, rats should be offered a set of available products: pieces of wheat and rye bread, vegetables (beets, carrots), cheese, pieces of boiled meat and fish. Take a closer look at which of these products the rats in this room take first and eat with the greatest willingness. The catch should be carried out only with the bait that the rats preferred. In different objects, preference will be different, which cannot be predicted in advance. Organizations carrying out deratization (getting rid of buildings from rats) very often ignore the most important ethological feature of pasyuks - their caution. In all cities, processing is carried out by staying at the facility for 2-- days. During such a period, deratizers catch (or poison) a small part of the rats, and their main number continues to live. Such senseless deratization has been carried out for decades, but does not give the desired results.

house mouse white gray rat

gray rat

In the mouse family, in addition to real rats, there are whole line animals bearing this name. So, in Australia and on the islands New Guinea and Tasmania lives a rather large golden-bellied beaver rat, a representative of the genus of Australian water rats. This animal lives near reservoirs, along the banks of which it digs holes. Water rats are excellent swimmers, their paws are even equipped with swimming membranes. They prey on mollusks, crustaceans, frogs, fish and even water birds. The golden-bellied beaver rat is a favorite object of hunting for local residents, its fur is highly valued. The striped maned rat that lives in East Africa. Long and rather coarse hair on the back forms a comb, which gives this rat some resemblance to a porcupine.

Giant hamster rats live in the forests of Africa, reaching half a meter in length. These are very secretive solitary animals, scouring the forest floor at night in search of food. Bush rats also live in African forests, leading an arboreal lifestyle. They are staunch vegetarians, feeding on leaves and seeds. In the crowns of trees, they build cozy nests from dry leaves, in which they spend daylight hours.

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(Muridae)****

* * * * Mouse is the most extensive family of modern rodents and mammals in general. It has about 120 genera and about 400-500 species.

No other family gives us such a thorough understanding of what rodents are like, which includes mice. The family is not only rich in genera and species, but also one of the most common, and, thanks to its tendency to follow man everywhere, it is now capable of even greater distribution, at least with regard to certain individual genera. The members of this family are all without exception vertically challenged, but this shortcoming is fully compensated by the number of individuals. Wishing to give a general picture of the appearance of these animals, we can say that the distinguishing features of the family are: a sharp stigma, large, black eyes, wide, deeply concave ears covered with sparse hair, a long, hairy or often bare-scaly tail and small, thin legs. delicate paws with five fingers, as well as a short soft fur coat.
More or less in relation to these external changes the main type is the structure of the teeth. Usually the incisors are narrow and thicker than wide, with a wide sharp edge or a simple point, they are flat or convex on the front surface, white or colored, and sometimes with a longitudinal groove in the middle. The three molars in each row, decreasing from front to back, form the rest of the dentition, but they also decrease to two or increase to four in the upper jaw. They are either covered with enamel tubercles and with two roots, or with transverse folds and with lateral recesses. From chewing, they grind off, and then the surface is smooth or folded. Cheek pouches are also found in some species, but in others they are completely absent; in some the stomach is arranged simply, in others it is strongly constricted, etc.
Mice are cosmopolitans, but, unfortunately, in the worst sense of the word. All parts of the globe know representatives of this family, and those happy islands that have hitherto been spared by them, in the course of time, will certainly be settled by at least one species of some kind, since many of the mice have a passion for travel. Mice inhabit all countries, and although they prefer the plains of temperate and warm latitudes to harsh mountainous areas or the cold north, but they are also found where the vegetation boundary reaches, therefore, in mountainous areas they reach the line of eternal snow *.

* Mouses are especially diverse in the tropics of Africa and Asia, in the natural landscapes of the temperate zone, they are inferior in number and diversity to voles and other hamsters. The Western Hemisphere and remote oceanic islands have mastered only 4-5 species of mice already in historical time, becoming satellites of man and using his swimming facilities. Contrary to popular belief, only a small part of the family members are attracted to anthropogenic landscapes and have become synanthropic animals.

In Russia, there are 12-15 species of mice from 5 genera. Landscaped areas, fruitful fields, plantations are, of course, their favorite habitats, but marshy spaces, the banks of rivers and streams are also quite suitable for them, and even lean, dry plains barely overgrown with grass and shrubs provide them with another opportunity for existence. . Some species avoid the proximity of human settlements, others, on the contrary, are imposed on man, like uninvited guests, and follow him wherever he establishes a new settlement, even across the sea. They inhabit houses and yards, barns and stables, gardens and fields, meadows and forests, everywhere causing harm and disaster with their teeth. Only a few species live alone or in pairs, most live in societies, and some species are found in innumerable herds and. Almost all have an extraordinary ability to reproduce, the number of cubs of one litter varies from 6 to 21, and most of the species give birth several times a year, not excluding even winter.
Mice are adapted in every way to torment and torment people, and the whole structure of the body seems to help them especially in this. Agile and agile in their movements, they are excellent at running, jumping, climbing, swimming, penetrating through the narrowest openings, and if they do not find access, then they punch their way with sharp teeth. They are quite smart and cautious, but at the same time bold, shameless, impudent, cunning and bold; all their senses are refined, but their sense of smell and hearing are far superior to the rest. Their food consists of all edible substances of the plant and animal kingdom*.

* The secret to murine success is a good ability to adapt to changing conditions. Mouse climb well, run well, know how to dig holes, there are semi-aquatic forms. Almost all mice are characterized by nocturnal or twilight activity. In nutrition, they are widely omnivorous. Finally, in mice there is a rapid change of generations, a high rate of reproduction and high mortality.

Seeds, fruits, roots, bark, leaves, grass, which are their natural food, are devoured by them no less willingly than insects, meat, fat, blood and milk, butter and cheese, skin and bones, and what they cannot eat, they will at least gnaw and bite, as, for example, paper and wood. They drink water very rarely, but they are extremely fond of more nutritious liquids and try to get them in the most cunning ways. At the same time, they always devastate much more than they eat, and therefore become the most unpleasant enemies of a person, inevitably causing all his hatred; the cruelty that he allows himself in the persecution of them, from this point of view, if not excusable, then still understandable. Only a very few of them are harmless and harmless animals and deserve our favor for their dapper appearance, charm of movements and good-natured disposition. To these belong masters in the art of building, building their nests better than all other mammals and, due to their small number and insignificant food intake, are not as harmful as their relatives, while other species - also a kind of builders, building their own dwellings underground - become hated precisely because of this circumstance. Some species living in cold and temperate countries undergo hibernation and prepare supplies for the winter **, others at times undertake migrations in innumerable crowds, which, however, usually end in their death.

* * Mice undoubtedly store food for the winter, but do not hibernate.

Few breeds are suitable for keeping in captivity, because only the smallest part of the whole family is able to be easily tamed and is distinguished by a peaceful attitude towards each other. The rest, even in the cage, remain unpleasant, perky, evil creatures who repay evil for the friendship and care dedicated to them. Actually, mice do not bring any benefit to a person, but if they sometimes use skins of one kind or another, or even eat their meat, then this cannot compensate for the enormous harm that this whole family causes.
In everyday life, there are two main groups: rats and mice. The same division is recognized by science***. Rats are more clumsy and uglier looking, mice are more beautiful and comely. In the former, the tail has about 200-260 scaly rings, in the latter from 120 to 180; those legs are thick and strong, those slender and thin; adult rats are much larger than their relatives. In terms of lifestyle, rats themselves differ quite sharply from real mice.

* * * These names do not carry any taxonomic significance, but only indicate the approximate size of the animal.

With sufficient reason, we can assume that the rats living in Europe did not originally belong to the native animals and only later migrated to us. In the writings of ancient writers there is only one single place that can indicate rats, however, it remains unclear what kind of Amyntas could mean, the message of which Elian cites. According to some reports, the black rat appeared in Europe and Germany earlier than others, followed by pasyuk.
It will suffice if I describe the two most famous species, the black rat and the pasyuk.
black rat(Battus rattus) reaches 35 cm in length, with the body up to 16 cm and the tail up to 19 cm, the body is dark, brownish-black above, slightly lighter below, grayish-black *. Dark gray at the base of the hair has a greenish metallic sheen. The legs are gray-brown, slightly lighter on the sides. On a relatively long tail, there are 260-270 scaly rings. Albinos are not uncommon.

* It is believed that at first Europe was settled by the so-called brown rat, then it was replaced by a new wave - the black rat itself.

When this species appeared in Europe, it is impossible to determine with accuracy. Albert Magnus, the first of the zoologists, describes him as an animal found in Germany. Judging by this, he already lived in Europe in the 13th century. Gesner describes this rat as an animal that is "more familiar to many than anyone." The Bishop of Autun at the beginning of the 15th century pronounces an ecclesiastical curse over her; in Sondershausen, to get rid of rats, a day of prayer and repentance is established.

It is very possible that these animals come from Persia, where they are still found in incredible numbers **.

Until the first half of the last century, only this species was found in Europe, but since that time the pasyuk began to challenge its place, and with such success that it had to give way everywhere. Although the black rat is still widely distributed throughout all parts of the earth, it rarely appears in close masses, but is scattered almost everywhere alone. In Germany it seems to have disappeared everywhere. She also followed man to all latitudes of the globe and traveled with him by land and sea around the world. There is not the slightest doubt that she had not previously met either in America, or in Australia, or in Africa, but ships carried her to all shores, and from the shores she moved farther and farther inland. Now they also meet her in the southern parts of Asia, especially in India, Africa and mainly in Egypt and Morocco, as well as at the Cape of Good Hope, in America, Australia and the Pacific Islands.
Pasyuk(Battus norvegicus) is much larger, body length 42 cm, including 18 cm tail length, coat color is different on the back and belly*. The upper part of the body and tail are brownish-gray, the lower part of the body is grayish-white, both parts are demarcated. Undercoat for the most part pale grey. The tail has about 210 scaly rings. Sometimes there are individuals completely black, white with red eyes, roan and piebald.

* Pasyuk, also called a gray, red, Norwegian ship rat by them, occasionally reaches a length of 28 cm, with a tail length of 23 cm and a mass of over half a kilogram. According to some reports, sometimes as a result of mutations, rats of even more impressive sizes appear.

With a high probability, we can accept that pasyuk came to us from Asia, namely from India or Persia **.

* * According to one of the versions, China is the homeland of pasyuk, and it came to Europe from the east, forcing major rivers, for example, the Volga, not earlier than the middle of the 16th century.

It is quite possible that Elian already had it in mind when he said that the "Caspian mouse" at a certain time migrates in an infinite number, fearlessly crossing rivers, each animal holding on to the tail of the front one with its teeth. “If they attack the fields,” he says, “then they undermine the bread and climb trees for fruits, but in turn they become the prey of birds of prey flying in whole clouds and many foxes living there. They are in no way inferior in size to ichneumon, very angry and toothy and have such strong teeth that they can even gnaw through iron, like Babylonian mice, whose delicate skins are exported to Persia, where they go to the lining of dresses. Pallas is the first to describe the pasyuk as undoubtedly belonging to European animals, and reports that in the autumn of 1727, after one earthquake, it appeared in large numbers in Europe from the Caspian countries. In Turkmenistan, according to the testimony of A. Walter, he was not considered a native animal and in the past decade he was not yet encountered at all in Ashgabat and Merv, where now, probably, he was brought by the Russian railway ***.

* * * Currently, the gray rat is distributed throughout settlements Russia, including the Arctic, is absent only on some high arctic islands, a number of regions of Central and Eastern Siberia.

At the beginning of the last century, it crossed the Volga near Astrakhan in large herds and quickly spread to the west from there. Almost at the same time, namely in 1732, he was delivered by ship from the East Indies to England and then began his round-the-world journey from here as well. It appeared in East Prussia in 1750, in Paris in 1753, and in 1780 it was already known throughout Germany, in Switzerland only since 1809, and in Denmark since about the same time it has been considered a native animal. In 1755 it was transported to North America, and here, in the same way, within the shortest time it reached an incredible distribution, but in 1825 it penetrated not far beyond Kingston into northern Canada, and in the past decade it had not yet reached the headwaters of the Missouri.
However, it is reliably known that now it is distributed in all parts of the Great Ocean and is found even on the most deserted and secluded islands. Being larger and stronger than the black rat, it captures everywhere those places in which it formerly lived, and increases in numbers to the same extent as it decreases *.

* Since the ecological niches of gray and black rats are not identical, the complete displacement of one species by the other did not occur. The black rat is more thermophilic, is the best climber, in places where it lives together with the pasyuk, it leaves the competition to the upper floors, attics.

In their way of life, in their manners and habits, as well as in their habitats, both types of rats are so similar that when describing one, you depict the other. If we accept that the pasyuki nest more often in the lower rooms of buildings and mainly in damp cellars and cellars, drainpipes, sluices, cesspools and garbage pits and along river banks, while the black rat prefers the upper parts of houses, for example, grain barns, attics, then very little will remain that would not be common to both breeds. Both the one and the other species of these harmful animals live in all sorts of nooks and crannies of human dwellings and all places that give them the opportunity to get their own food. From the cellar to the attic, from the front rooms to the latrine, from the palace to the hut - they are found everywhere **.

* * Pasyuki can settle even in refrigerators, with a constant temperature below 10 degrees below zero. In general, there are entire populations of gray rats living all year round, or only in the summer outside buildings - in fields, gardens, gardens, parks, and wastelands. In the southern regions of Russia, they also inhabit natural landscapes, preferring near-water biotopes.

They live where there is at least the slightest possibility of existence, however, the black rat still has more rights to the name of a pet and, if possible, only slightly moves away from the human dwelling itself. These rats, endowed both bodily and spiritually with all qualities, in order to become enemies of man, do not cease to torment, annoy, disturb and incessantly harm him. Neither a fence, nor a wall, nor a door, nor a lock protects against them; where there is no road, they make it for themselves, gnaw and tear out passages through the strongest oak floorboards and thick walls. Only if the foundation is deeply buried in the ground, if all the cracks between the stones are covered with strong cement, and, perhaps, as a precaution, a layer of broken glass is poured between the stone walls, only then can one consider oneself somehow safe. But the trouble is well-protected space, if even one stone in the wall is loosened, because in this case they will certainly find a loophole there! And this destruction of dwellings, this terrible gnaw in all directions of the walls of our houses, is still the least of the evils caused by rats. They do much more harm by looking for food. They eat everything that is edible. Man does not eat anything that rats do not eat as well, and this applies not only to eating, but also to drinking it. Not content with an already rich choice of foods, they attack with equal greed on everything, and sometimes even on animals. The dirtiest dregs of human economy are still suitable for them; rotting carrion finds lovers in them. They eat skin and horn, grains and tree bark - in a word, everything that can be imagined, vegetable and animal substances, and what they cannot eat, they at least gnaw. They sometimes cause significant damage to sugar cane and coffee plantations. There are examples, the reliability of which can be vouched for, that they ate small children alive, and every more prosperous landowner experienced how cruelly rats persecute his yard animals. In very fat pigs, they eat holes in the body, in geese, sitting tightly pressed against each other, they eat off the swimming membranes between the fingers, young ducks are dragged into the water and drowned there *.

* By the nature of the diet, rats are carnivores rather than omnivores, plant foods included in the diet, as a rule, are high-calorie - seeds, fruits. There are known cases of attacks by rats on people who are in a helpless state. There are frequent cases of cannibalism and active predation in relation to smaller rodents. Near humans, rat populations have found a permanent food base in the form of food waste and feces.

If in any place they multiply more than usual, then this is truly hardly bearable. There are places where they appear in such numbers that one can hardly form an idea. In Paris, in one of the slaughterhouses, 16,000 horses were killed within 4 weeks **, and in one knacker near the same capital, they destroyed 35 horse corpses to the bone in just one night.

* According to some calculations by public utilities that carry out deratization (destruction of rats and mice), the number of rats in large cities exceeds the number of people by about 5 times. According to this logic, at least 50 million rats live in Moscow.

As soon as they notice that a person is powerless against them, their impudence takes on truly amazing proportions, so that if you didn’t have to be half to death angry with these animals, then sometimes you might even want to laugh at their shamelessness, which transcends all boundaries. Las Cases relates that on June 27, 1816, on the island of St. Helena, Napoleon and his companions had to go without breakfast, because on the previous night rats got into the kitchen and everything was torn apart by them. They were found there in large numbers, were very angry and too shameless. Usually only a few days were enough for them to gnaw through the stone walls and plank partitions of the simple dwelling of the emperor. During Napoleon's dinner, they came to the hall, and after eating they waged a real war with them. For the same reason, it was necessary to refuse to keep yard birds, since the rats devoured them, they got the birds at night even from the trees on which the latter slept. In the trading posts of distant lands, wherever pasyuki are also landed on land along with goods, they are a very serious scourge and often cause serious harm. All travelers, and especially collectors, complain about them, telling how many very rare and hard-earned objects are often destroyed by these terrible beasts ***.

* * * Rats pose a serious threat as a constant reservoir of dangerous epidemic diseases of typhus, tularemia, plague, etc.

* Once in the holds of ships in remote archipelagos, rats become the most terrible enemies local fauna, which developed in the absence of predators and lost its protective adaptations. Many endemic animal species have disappeared from the face of the earth forever thanks to rats, unwittingly introduced by man. In many island states, rat control programs are being implemented to save the remaining native fauna.

Rats in all bodily exercises are great masters. They run quickly and agilely, climb excellently, even on fairly smooth walls, swim expertly, perform jumps over fairly long distances with confidence, and burrow very well in the ground, although they do not willingly do this for a long time. The stronger pasyuk, apparently, is even more agile than the black rat, at least it swims much better. Its ability to dive is almost as great as that of real aquatic animals. He can safely go fishing, as he is agile enough in the water to pursue even the real inhabitants of the wet element. Sometimes he acts as if the water were his real residence. Being frightened, he instantly flees into a river, pond or ditch and, if necessary, without stopping, swims across the widest expanse of water or runs forward along the bottom of the river for several minutes *. The black rat does this only as a last resort, but he also knows the art of swimming very well. However, rats are by no means lacking in courage; they defend themselves against all kinds of persecutors and even often rush at a person if he greatly oppresses them.

* Gray rats of natural populations tend to floodplains and banks of water bodies, in fact semi-aquatic image life. The basis of their diet is fish, mollusks, frogs, crustaceans.

Between the senses of rats, hearing and smell are in the foreground, the first is especially excellent, but vision is also not bad, and their taste is too often found in practice in pantries, where rats always know how to choose the most delicious food for themselves. Regarding their mental abilities, after all that has been said, it remains for me to add a little already. They positively cannot be denied intelligence, and even less prudent cunning and a certain kind of cunning with which they are able to avoid the most diverse dangers and get the desired tidbit. It has already been told many times about the way in which they carried away eggs without breaking them on the way. The doubts that may arise regarding the method they practice are no longer justified after the naturalist Dalla-Torre reported in 1880 the following case, which he personally saw: “In the cellar of a house in Innsbruck this winter, several eggs began to disappear every now and then , kept there for that season. Suspicion first of all, of course, fell on the maid, who then tried in every possible way to prove her innocence, but in vain. Being in such a ticklish position, she began to lie in wait for rats and became a witness to the thieves' trick that they used, the eggs were heaped up, and out of the burrow came first one gourmand rat, and soon after it another, whereupon the first seized one egg with its front paws, and with the help of the second pushed it somewhat aside, as far as they could do it with a few strong Then the first rat seized the egg with its forelimbs and held it tightly, like spiders carrying an egg sack. that she could no longer move, since her front paws had to hold her prey firmly. Then the second grabbed the tail of the first in her mouth and with great haste and without stopping dragged her to the hole, whence they came out. The whole operation, prepared, as could be concluded from the number of eggs that disappeared, by a large number of exercises, lasted about two minutes, no more. An hour later, after the couple of thieves had disappeared from the scene, they reappeared, no doubt for the same purpose, and thanks to the kind invitation of the family where the just described happened, I had the opportunity to be an eyewitness to this trick, which, according to the assurances of the maid, was always played out. in the same way. Here it would be useful to make observations on the mind and instinct of animals and the difference between them. I only allow myself to note that the opinion, which is quite widespread here in the region, that marmots similarly demolish or rather steal their stocks of hay, is not at all implausible, since both of them, like rodents, can have the same customs. However, with regard to marmots, we, in any case, will hold on to the doubts we have expressed above, until there are reliable observations on this score.
In some rats, in case of great danger, a special cunning was observed. They pretend to be dead, like a possum does. My father once caught a rat that lay motionless in a rat trap and allowed itself to be shaken in all directions. But even her brilliant eye was too clear a sign of life for such an expert observer to be deceived. My father shook the conjurer out of the trap in the yard, but he did it in the presence of her worst enemy - the cat, and now the supposedly dead one immediately came to life and came to her senses and wanted to run away as soon as possible, but the pussy sat on her neck before she had time to take one step.
Mating is accompanied by loud noise, squeaking and screaming, as the males in love fight fiercely for possession of the females. About a month after the mating, the females toss from 5 to 22 cubs, cute little animals that everyone would like if they were not rats *.

* A colony of rats consists of several families, including a male, one or more females and their offspring. Families have a common feeding territory, but males guard the areas with nesting chambers of their family. Rats breed all year round, more intensively in spring and summer. There are up to 3 broods per year, on average 7 cubs (from 1 to 17), rat pups leave the family after 3-4 months and become sexually mature. The rats have developed natural birth control, possibly at the hormonal level. It is known that no more than 20% of females reproduce simultaneously in stable populations.

Rats kept in captivity good care become so tame that they allow themselves not only to be touched, but play with children, they learn to go out and enter the house, run around the yard and garden, follow their tutor like dogs, come to the call, in short, become pets or pets in in the best sense of the word**.

* * Experiments with tame and wild rats have shown that they are distinguished by extraordinary intelligence, are able to learn easily, adjust their behavior to the most diverse and changing conditions. Many of the cases described by Brem confirm this. Thanks to his abilities, pronounced individual traits behavior, "cultured" rats are extremely interesting and attractive as pets.

Free-living rats sometimes have a particular disease. Several of them grow together with their tails and then form the so-called "rat king", which in the old days was imagined, of course, quite differently than now, when it can be seen in one or another museum. Previously, it was thought that the rat king, adorned with a golden crown, sits on a group of closely fused rats, as if on a throne, and from here controls the entire rat kingdom. It is only certain that sometimes a large number of rats are found, their tails entangled with each other, which, out of compassion, are fed by other rats, since they are not able to move themselves. Altenburg retains one such "rat king", consisting of 27 rats; in Bonn, at Schnepfenthal, in Frankfurt, in Erfurt and in Lindenau near Leipzig, other similar "kings" were found. The latter is officially described in detail, and I consider it not superfluous to give here the content of the relevant acts.
"On January 17, 1774, Christian Kaiser, a laborer from a mill in Lindenau, appeared at the Zemstvo court in Leipzig and declared that early last Wednesday morning at a mill in Lindenau he had caught a "rat king" of 16 pieces of rats fused with each other tails, which he, since the latter wanted to jump on him, immediately threw to the ground and killed. This rat king Johann Adam Fasgauer from Lindenau, under the pretext that he wants to copy him, took away from his master, Tobius Jaegern, a miller in Lindenau, did not want to give it back, and since then he has made a lot of money with it, so he most humbly asks the court to force Fasgauer's cum expensis to immediately return the rat king to him and pay all the money earned from it.
On February 22, 1774, he again appeared in the zemstvo court.
Christian Kaiser, a laborer from a mill in Lindenau, testified: "that he actually caught a rat king from 16 pieces of rats at a mill in Lindenau on January 12. He heard the indicated number at the mill, namely under the floor of the upper floor, near the stairs, noise, whereupon he went up the stairs in that place and saw in the opening of the underground some rats peeping out from there, which he killed with a piece of wood. ax on the floor, many of the rats were still alive, although they fell from a height, but he, some time later, killed these too.Sixteen pieces of rats were tightly intertwined with each other, namely, tail attached to the hair on the back of the other.When falling from the top floor, none of them separated from the others, after which many were still alive and jumping for some time, but in this way they could not break away from each other.They were so tightly intertwined I wait for myself that he does not think that it would be possible to tear them apart, or at least that this could be done only with great difficulty, etc. "A few more other testimonies follow, which confirm said. At the end is a description of the doctor and surgeon who, at the request of the Zemstvo court, examined the case in detail. The doctor reports this as follows: "In order to make sure what can be believed from the story of the rat king, transmitted by many with great embellishments, I went on January 16 to Lindenau and there I found that in the post pipe tavern, in a cool room on the table there were 16 pieces of dead rats, of which 15 pieces were so entangled with each other with their tails that the latter formed a thick knot, resembling a rope with several ends, and many of the tails were completely tangled in this knot at a distance of about 1-2 inches from the body. they were directed to the periphery, and their tails to the center of the knot formed by them.Near these closely connected rats lay the sixteenth, which, according to the painter Fasgauer, who was standing there, was torn off from the knot.To satisfy my curiosity, I least of all engaged in questions, moreover, that the most absurd and ridiculous answers were given to the questions of the visitors who came there every now and then, marveling at the miracle; I only examined the bodies and tails of rats and found: 1) that all these rats had a completely natural structure of the head, torso and four legs; 2) that some were ash-gray in color, others somewhat darker, others almost completely black; 3) that some were the size of a whole palm; 4) that their thickness and breadth were in proportion to their length, but in such a way that they seemed more emaciated than fattened; 5) that their tails could be considered a little more or less than a Leipzig cubit; they were a bit dirty and cheesy.
When, with the help of a piece of wood, I lifted the knot and the rats hanging on it, I noticed very clearly that it would not be difficult to tear some of the tangled tails apart from each other, but the painter, who was present at the same time, with some indignation, prevented me from doing this. In the sixteenth rat mentioned above, I clearly noticed that its tail was with it without the slightest damage, and that, therefore, it was separated from the others without any difficulty. After weighing all these circumstances with all possible care, I came to the uttermost conviction that the said 16 rats do not represent any special "rat king", but simply known number rats of various sizes, thicknesses and colors, as well as (in my opinion) different ages and gender. Regarding how the interweaving of rats takes place, I imagine the matter as follows: in a few

Mice are the largest family in the class of mammals. These rodents are distributed throughout the world, except for Antarctica and high mountainous regions.

In nature there are various kinds mice. The smallest mice are about 5 cm in size, and the largest members of the family reach 35 cm. Most mice are gray in color, hence the expression "mouse color".

What are mice? Why are rodents dangerous to humans? What mice can be kept as pets? The article provides a description and photographs of representatives of the mouse family, information about their features and lifestyle.

Features of representatives of the order of mice

The mouse family belongs to the order of rodents. Science knows 519 species of these animals. A typical representative of the mouse family - little animal with small ears and short hair, which has a gray, reddish, brown or black color. In nature, white albinos with red eyes are also found.

Mice are very fertile. The female bears cubs for 25 days and brings up to five litters per year. There are 8-12 little mice in each litter. For about three weeks, the mouse feeds the cubs with milk. After 20 days, their incisors form and they begin to feed on their own. The mice develop very quickly, within three months after birth they are ready to bear offspring. The average lifespan of a mouse is about 2 years.

Mice lack a collarbone, which allows these rodents to get into the narrowest gaps. In addition, the animal quickly adapts to any living conditions and can long time go without water. All this makes mice very tenacious.

The presence of a thin mustache helps the animals in orienting themselves on the ground. Rodents have two pairs of constantly growing sharp incisors. If their size reaches 2 cm, rodents may die, so they need to gnaw something, grinding their incisors.

The genes of mice are 80% identical to those of humans. Due to this property, mice, mostly white, are used in laboratory scientific and medical research.

Lifestyle and nutrition of rodents

Mice are mostly nocturnal. They have polyphasic activity: sleep alternates with periods of wakefulness from 25 to 90 minutes.

The animals are very mobile, they can move at speeds up to 13 km per hour. Usually they run on certain routes. You can determine the path of their movement by the left litter.

Rodents nest in groups consisting of a male and several females with cubs. Each family has its own area. Males are very aggressive towards other males. The grown offspring are usually expelled from the family.

In nature, the animals make nests from grass, settle in holes or hollows of trees, making stocks of food for the winter. Getting into the room, they settle under the floor, between the walls, in the attics.

The animals feed on plant seeds and small invertebrates. They can also eat bird eggs and small chicks. Mice living in the house eat any food, gnaw candles, soap, plastic items, paper. These animals are capable of inflicting serious damage to humans.

Most great harm which can cause a person wild mouse, are various dangerous diseases carried by it:

• typhus;
• intestinal infections;
• Bubonic plague;
• lentospirosis;
• salmonellosis;
• sodokoz;
• rabies;
• tularemia.

Scientists do not exclude the possibility of transmission of breast cancer by mice. Diseases can be transmitted through food contaminated with rodents, water, bites, air in a room heavily polluted with rodent waste.

Description of the types of wild mice with a photo

Representatives of different types of mice differ from each other in size, color and habitat. The following types of wild mice live in Russia:

forest mouse

The wood mouse lives on the edges of mixed and deciduous forests or in meadows among tall grass. The size of the rodent is about 10 cm, and the length of the tail reaches up to 7 cm. The mouse has round ears, its color can be from red to dark brown (see photo). The eared animal moves very quickly, can climb high into the trees.

The rodent settles in the hollows of trees, under the roots and fallen trees. The wood mouse hibernates in burrows, the depth of which is up to 2 meters. Minks have several chambers for food supplies, a nest compartment and 2-3 exits.

The animal feeds on fallen tree seeds, acorns, nuts, berries, grass sprouts. The diet is supplemented with small invertebrates.

The beast breeds 2-3 times a year, bringing 5-8 cubs. The number of animals depends on the yield of feed and climatic conditions.

house mouse

The house mouse lives in human housing or adjoining buildings: barns, warehouses, sheds. Can climb to the upper floors of apartment buildings. Usually it is a gray or black mouse, which reaches 6-10 cm in length. The length of its tail is up to 60% of the size of the body.

In the spring, the house mouse moves to nature, and with the onset of cold weather, it returns to the premises. In houses, animals bring a lot of inconvenience: they gnaw on furniture, wiring, walls, and spoil food.

field mouse

Field mice are called mice that live in meadows and fields. They are distributed in Europe, Siberia, the Far East and Mongolia.

Voles are dark or reddish in color with darker stripes and have a white belly and legs. Their size reaches 7-12 cm. The tail of the animals is relatively small. For food, they go out mainly at night, since during the day they risk becoming a victim of numerous predators, for example, an ordinary grass snake. They feed on plants and small insects. These mice are very prolific and tenacious.

Mouse gerbil

The gerbil was brought to Russia from America for laboratory research. Now there are more than 100 varieties of this animal. Dwarf and Mongolian gerbils live in Russia.

Sand mice are often kept as decorative pets. They have a red color with a black stripe and a white tummy. At the end of the tail, some animals have a fluffy tassel.

yellow-throated mouse

The yellow-throated mouse is found in Russia, Moldova, Belarus, China, and Ukraine. This mouse got its name because of the unusual coloring: the beast itself is colored red, and its neck is girded with a yellow stripe. The animal is listed in the Red Book of the Moscow Region.

The sizes of these mice are 10-13 cm. The long tail has the same length. Rodents feed on plant foods. They can harm gardens by destroying the shoots of fruit trees.

grass mice

Grass mice live in Africa. These rodents are the largest among relatives. Their size reaches 35 cm along with the length of the tail. Weight can be more than 100 g. The color of animals has grayish or brownish hues with dark patches. Animals nest in burrows or bushes. They can settle in rooms and houses. Grass mice live in large colonies. They feed on vegetation. Can completely destroy agricultural crops.

Decorative house mice

Thanks to the work of breeders, a variety of domestic decorative mice have been bred. They differ in the type of wool and color. The coat of a domestic decorative animal can be curly, long, satin. Even naked mice have been bred, which do not have hair at all.

Animals can be painted both in a mouse standard color, and in blue, silver, red and other shades. Mice with Siamese color, sable or chinchilla color are in demand. Depending on the features, coloring happens:

At home, small decorative mice are kept in cages with small cells or glass terrariums. They create a living corner in which they place feeders, drinkers, items for games. They are unpretentious for food. These can be cereals, grains, greens, vegetables, dairy products, or special foods purchased in specialized stores. To grind the incisors, the animals are given stale bread crusts and tree branches.

Most often, houses contain white mice. The white mouse is larger than the decorative mouse and smaller than its wild relative. An albino mouse has red eyes and a pink nose.