Animal of the Month

Ten things you should know about mice:

1. Mice can recognise their names, and when called, they will often respond.
2. Mice can hear sounds at a frequency which is impossible for humans to hear. Mice use these "ultrasonic" sounds to find their pups in the wild.
3. The house mouse originally lived in south-western Asia, but mice have spread all over the world. They have an amazing ability to adapt to new environments.
4. In ancient Greece, the god Apollo was sometimes called Apollo Smintheus, meaning Apollo the Mouse.
5. In 2009, approximately 2.6 million mice were used for animal experimentation in the UK. Animal experimentation is often very painful and causes great distress.
6. Mice have many predators, including cats, dogs, hawks, weasels, stoats, owls, snakes and sometimes people.
7. If you have unwanted mouse visitors in your home, ask your parents to remove them humanely. You can use humane mouse traps, which allow mice who are caught to be safely released, rather than using cruel poisons, snap traps or glue traps. Glue traps are sticky adhesive boards which trap animals, leaving them to suffer for days. You can also use a product such as Mousemesh to prevent mice from entering in the first place.
8. Mice are excellent climbers, using their tails to balance and grip.
9. Mice are sociable animals and live in small groups in the wild. However, they don't like intruders joining their group. If you have mice as animal companions, you should not introduce a new mouse with an older mouse, as they are likely to fight.
10. As animal companions, mice need care, time and attention. They are intelligent and need lots of exercise and toys to play with, and they require their home to be cleaned regularly.