Cactus Mouse
Peromyscus eremicus
Body length: 3 1/5 - 3 3/5"
Diet: Seeds, insects, and possibly green vegetation
To most people, all mice and rats look alike. Still, if we had to identify the
most mouse-like of Tonto's small mammals, it would have to be the cactus mouse,
with its Mickey Mouse ears and scampering habits.
The cactus mouse is one species of a closely related group of common mice often
referred to as "deer mice". All are potential carriers of a virus known
as Hantavirus, which can be deadly to humans but does not appear to harm the mice
themselves. Outbreaks of Hantavirus in Arizona and New Mexico may be related to
periodic population explosions of mice. Under ideal conditions, which seem to
coincide with extremely wet winters, female cactus mice can give birth at approximately
29-day intervals for two years or more. Cactus mice occur throughout Tonto National
Monument.
NPS
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Updated
May 8, 2005