Sleeping beauty wows Kildare

DORMICE have taken up residence in Co Kildare.

Mon, 05 Aug, 2013 - 01:00

A lady cleaning a tree-house captured one. It was taken to the Kildare Animal Foundation where it was joined recently by a second animal.

These cuddly golden-brown mammals have long whiskers, rounded ears and fur-covered tails. Large black eyes enable them to see at night. They like a closed canopy so as to move between trees without descending to the ground. Nests of woven grass and strips of bark are made in holes or among the roots of trees. Buildings are used occasionally; the individual captured in Kildare may have been prospecting for a site.

Dormice are not native to Ireland, so the law forbids returning the captives to the wild. The Kildare prisoners should be reasonably happy, however; there’s a precedent. The Romans farmed dormice in terra cotta containers. They dipped the poor creatures in honey and ate them as snacks. Their species was the much larger ‘edible’ dormouse. Ours is the ‘hazel’ dormouse of mainland Europe, England and Wales. Its penchant for living in old managed woodland led to the name.

Most of this little creature’s life is spent sleeping. ‘Dormouse’ comes from the French ‘dormir’, ‘to sleep’. Unusually for a small rodent species, it hibernates from October to April. Even in summer, it can become torpid and take an extended nap.

According to the Doctrine of Signatures, everything exists for our use and God provided a clue to the benefits each creature provides. Believing that it cured insomnia, sufferers ate dormouse fat at bedtime. A controversial theory suggests than any animal’s heart is good for about 800 million beats. Whether that number applies to all species or not, every ticker has its sell-by date. The rate falls during slumber, so sleeping makes the heart last longer, prolonging its owner’s life. The house mouse, which doesn’t hibernate, is lucky to reach its first birthday but a dormouse may see its fifth.

So how did the little foreigners get to Kildare? Were they brought in deliberately or imported accidentally in bales of hay? We don’t know. Nor can we be sure when they arrived; this little creature could go unnoticed for years and is probably well established by now. It may be an alien species but it’s not an invasive one. Only organisms which oust native plants and animals, or alter the environment significantly, are deemed to be invaders.

This is one of the few rodent species singled out for special protection. The Mammal Ecology Group at NUI Galway wants reports of sightings. You are not likely, however, to spot a dormouse casually but there may be tell-tale signs of its presence. According to Paul Sterry’s Collins Guide to British Mammals, one obvious clue is stripped honeysuckle bark. The dormouse extracts nectar from honeysuckle flowers, so look out for damaged petals. Hazel nuts are eaten when still green and unripe, leaving a characteristic hole in the shell.

Surprisingly, dormice will occupy nest-boxes, although those used to attract birds and bats aren’t really suitable. A purpose-built dormouse box has its entrance at the back, facing the tree to which it is attached. The gap between the box and the tree is just wide enough for the tiny mammal to squeeze through but too narrow to allow other rodents to do so. Erecting boxes is a useful way to confirm the presence of the rodent. There is, however, a dilemma. Under Irish wildlife law, encouraging alien species to breed may be an offence, unless the young are prevented from taking to the wild.

I must confess that, were a dormouse to nest in my garden, I could not bring myself to capture it or its babies.