Common dormouse

The common dormouse is a small mammal and can be easily distinguished from other mice by its long, bushy tail. The common dormouse has bright golden and cream coloured fur with large black eyes.

Dormice can be found in a variety of habitats including, deciduous woodland, scrub, grasslands and reedbeds. The dormouse constructs a sphere-shaped nest of grass and other materials a few feet from the ground. Here it may spend up to half of its time asleep.

The dormouse is nocturnal, sleeping during the day and hunting at night. Dormice are arboreal feeders, foraging on flowers, insects, fruit and hazelnuts. In winter, when food is scarce, the dormouse will hibernate to conserve energy. There are one or two records of dormice within the city of Plymouth.

The common dormouse is a European Protected Species. The deliberate capturing, disturbing, injuring or killing of dormice is prohibited, as is damaging or destroying their breeding sites and resting places under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (as amended) and the Conservation (Natural Habitats &c.) Regulations 1994 (as amended).

For more information on the common dormouse visit BBC Nature or Natural England.