![]() Since listing, three additional populations have been found within Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton in north San Diego County. The Pacific pocket mouse is primarily associated with sandy soils in a range of habitats with open vegetation structure structure After 20 years with no reports of the species remaining in existence, a single population was discovered in coastal Orange County, California, leading to emergency listing of the subspecies as endangered in 1994. Historically, the Pacific pocket mouse was found within 2.5 miles of the Pacific Ocean in Los Angeles County south to the vicinity of the Mexican border in San Diego County, California. NatureServe notes that the “remaining population consists of a few dozen individuals.The Pacific pocket mouse is one of 16 currently recognized subspecies of the little pocket mouse that is widely distributed throughout arid regions of the western United States, extending into the northern part of the Baja California peninsula and west central Sonora, Mexico. POPULATION TREND: The population of the Pacific pocket mouse has declined markedly from severe and continuing loss of habitat due to urban and agricultural expansion. ![]() THREATS: The pocket mouse faces severe and continuing loss of habitat to urban and agricultural use remaining mouse populations are imminently threatened by land development, fuel modification for fire protection, and domestic- and feral-cat predation. The Pacific pocket mouse stores food in underground burrows. A low food supply likely induces winter hibernation behavior during winters of abundant food, mice will remain active.įEEDING: Mice feed primarily on seeds of grasses and forbs, as well as on green vegetation in spring and sometimes on insects. Adults may hibernate from roughly September to April and stay in their burrows continuously for up to five months in winter, alternating between periods of dormancy and feeding on stored seeds. In captivity, Pacific pocket mice may live four to six years in the wild, mice may live one to two years. LIFE CYCLE: Young are born in a nest in an underground burrow and are capable of breeding in the same season they're born. The Pacific pocket mouse reaches sexual maturity in two to five months, though reproduction may not take place in years with below-average precipitation. Gestation takes 22 to 23 days young are weaned in 30 days. Females typically produce one or occasionally two litters per year, with two to eight young per litter. MIGRATION: The Pacific pocket mouse is nonmigratory.īREEDING: Breeding season generally peaks in spring but varies with temperatures, food supply, and plant growth. RANGE: The Pacific pocket mouse is endemic to coastal southwestern California the mouse formerly occurred at a minimum of eight locales encompassing 29 sites from Los Angeles County south to San Diego County. HABITAT: This mouse lives on fine-grain, sandy substrates and historically inhabited coastal dunes, river alluvium, and sage scrub habitats growing on marine terraces within approximately 2.4 miles of the ocean. The soles of the hind feet are hairy, giving the mouse one of its most distinguishing features. The ears are tipped with a patch of light hairs, and the tail is bi-colored. The coat is soft, bristle free, and light pinkish brown in color, with a lighter, sometimes white underside. PACIFIC POCKET MOUSE } Perognathus longimembris pacificusĭESCRIPTION: The Pacific pocket mouse is a nocturnal granivore ranging in size from 4.3 to 5.2 inches from the nose to tip of the tail.
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