An Unusual Winter Appearance of a Deer Mouse

Dick Burrows

This deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus) showed up at our doorstep in Colorado on 1 January 2008  at 11:03 AM. We live at an elevation of 2,590 meters (8,500 feet) with plenty of snow around. The mouse appeared to be cold and was at this spot for at least 30 minutes sitting in the sun. It was not bothered by us stepping over it several times. The temperature was 0.6 degree Celsius (33 F) in the shade and the low the previous night was -23 degrees Celsius (-10 F).

The camera was a Panasonic TZ1.

Figure 1. This chilly deer mouse was catching some sun on a frigid winter day. Photograph by Dick Burrows.

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