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The Wood Mouse: Apodemus Sylvaticus.


More commonly known as The long tailed field mouse, it is Ireland's commonest animal. After dusk the woods and hedges of Ireland bustle with millions of mice.

"It is an indisputably handsome animal" and "there is something exceedingly attractive about Apodemus at rest, poised, alert and quivering", says J.S. Fairley, one of the most noted Irish Mammalogists, in his authoritative 'An Irish Beast Book". His admiration may not be universal, as, many of us still quiver at recollection of a surprise appearance of the house mouse!

Its sense of sound is better developed than sight. Predominantly nocturnal when hunting for its food - nuts, berries, root bulbs, cereals, seeds, insects and snails - it follows habitual pathways. It in turn is preyed on by owl, kestrel, stoat, pine martin, fox and badger. To overcome this and the severe winters, it has about five litters per year. It conducts extensive burrows underground. His standards of morals are questionable for he is frequently seen to drop his tail's outer skin in the interests of survival!! The nude remainder eventually dries up and drops off!

There are no squirrel in this wood but the presence of such an endearing creature was so aspired to by us that our frequent discovery of neatly holed hazel nuts was conclusive evidence for our innocence. We overlooked that this distinctive method of burrowing a hole in the shell is diagnostic of the wood mouse. The squirrel splits the shell in two halves.

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