Cotton Mouse (Peromyscus gossypinus) lives in southeastern woodland across Southeastern United States. It feeds on seeds and insects. Its conservation status is Least Concern.
Fascinating facts about the Cotton Mouse
- A cotton mouse adults measure about 180 mm long with a 78 mm tail and tip the scales at 34-51 g, making them one of the biggest Peromyscus in the U.S. By comparison, the genus ranges from 142-206 mm total length, tails of 55-97 mm and weights of 17-46 g.
- When flames sweep through their swampy homes, cotton mice vanish underground instead of fleeing the blaze. They hide in stump holes, tree cavities, root boles and burrows, which not only shield them from predators but also from the heat of wild fires. Because they stay below ground, populations emerge from fire-scars with no measurable drop in numbers. This underground refuge strategy lets the species persist in fire-prone habitats where many other small mammals disappear.
- A single female cotton mouse can raise up to four litters a year, each clutch holding as many as seven newborns that are born hairless and blind. The babies stay in the nest for 20-25 days before weaning, and by two months they are sexually mature and ready to breed themselves. In the wild most individuals live only four to five months, though a few manage to survive a full year.
- Cotton mice are true opportunists, munching on seeds, fruits, nuts and up to half animal matter such as insects, arachnids and slugs. By swallowing fruit and later excreting the seeds elsewhere, they act as moving seed-dispersal units for many plant species across swamps, dunes and forest edges. Their omnivorous diet also helps keep insect populations in check, providing a natural pest-control service for nearby human settlements. In this way the tiny mouse stitches together plant regeneration and insect regulation in its ecosystem.
- Two cotton-mouse subspecies are teetering on the brink: the Key Largo cotton mouse (P. g. allapaticola) is listed as endangered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and flagged as Vulnerable D2 by the IUCN, meaning its entire world population lives in a tiny, fragile area. Another, the Chadwick Beach cotton mouse (P. g. restrictus), vanished from the record after its last sighting in 1938 and is now presumed extinct.
Sources
Every fact above was checked against these pages, and kept only where one of them states it.
At a glance
RangeSoutheastern United States
HabitatSoutheastern woodland
DietSeeds and insects
About the Cotton Mouse
In the whispering grasslands, a tiny, unassuming figure darts through the underbrush, the cotton mouse weaving a secret path with each fleeting step, its soft grey fur blending seamlessly into the shadows. With an air of quiet industry, it navigates the intricate network of tunnels and hidden clearings, driven by an insatiable hunger for seeds and fruits. As it moves, the cotton mouse embodies a paradox of fragility and resilience, its delicate form belied by a capacity to thrive in a wide range of habitats, from coastal dunes to inland forests.
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