Sleeping beauty wows Kildare

DORMICE have taken up residence in Co Kildare.

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.