Nearing extinction: only 150 garden dormice left in Limburg

The rare eikelmuis (garden dormouse) is the most endangered rodent in the Netherlands. There are only 100 to 150 of these mice in the south of the Netherlands. 🐭

Garden dormice live across Europe but the situation doesn’t look positive in other regions, particularly because of the environment, says RTL Nieuws. 😔

What are garden dormice?

The name is a little misleading — garden dormice are actually animals that fall between mice and squirrels (and they usually don’t live in gardens either).

They also happen to look and act more like squirrels, jumping from tree to tree with bushy tails. Schattig! (cute!)

Much like hedgehogs, dormice love heavily vegetated areas and eat insects and invertebrates.

The forests in the Netherlands are often cleaned, taking away insect populations and their space to forage and live. 🌳

A tiny population

These little critters live remotely in the woods so it’s rare to come across them if you’re just going on a quick forest stroll. 🚶🏻

Limburg has issued a conservation plan to help protect the areas they live in. The ecological system won’t change drastically if the mouse disappears, but ecologists say protecting biodiversity should be a priority in this case. 🌿

Conservationists plan to improve forest landscapes by leaving vegetation and connecting agricultural spaces to forests.

A Limburg zoo also set up a breeding programme for the animals — so hopefully, the population can grow again. 💪🏼

Have you heard of the garden dormouse before? Tell us in the comments!

Featured Image: Arno Laurent/Wikimedia Commons/CC3.0

Katrien Nivera 🇵🇭
Katrien Nivera 🇵🇭
Third culture kid Katrien has been working as a writer and editor at DutchReview for over two years, originally moving to the Netherlands as a tween. Equipped with a Bachelor’s in communication and media and a Master’s in political communication, she’s here to stay for her passion for writing, whether it’s current Dutch affairs, the energy market, or universities. Just like the Dutch, Katrien lives by her agenda and enjoys the occasional frietje met mayo — she just wishes she could grow tall, too.

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