The jumping mouse is a name given to several field mice that hibernate during the winter. They are one of the most interesting species of mice that live in North America—the first record of the jumping mouse date from the late 1800’s. People then called it the long-legged mouse of Hudson’s Bay.
Jumping mice have a brownish color and black specks. The jumping mouse’s hind legs are longer than most mice, and they have extremely long tails.
Jumping mice usually live in meadows, dance fields, and thickets near the edges of the woods. They particularly like to live in damp places. During the heaviest season, they may often be seen leaping like frogs.
Jumping 10 feet at a leap. Like kangaroos, they use their jumping ability for protection. At the slightest sign of danger, the mouse will take a flying leap. If a jumping mouse loses its tail, or part of it, it cannot jump as well and may lose its sense of balance.
These mice live in nearly all parts of North America, from the Bering Seas in North Carolina and New Mexico in the south.
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