Semirechenskaya Forest Dormouse—D. p. angelus.
The coloration of the nape and the middle part of the back distinctly features reddish-brown tones; the forehead is ash-gray, and the tail is light gray, but depending on the habitat, the fur color can change to yellow or almost white. It is a small animal about 20 cm long, with exactly half of that length being the tail. Its weight does not exceed 35 g. The fur on the tail is significantly darker and longer. In stressful situations, the fur on it stands on end. A dark horizontal stripe is located on the head of the dormouse.
The forest dormouse is a nocturnal animal, and therefore its vibrissae, reaching 4 cm, are very mobile: this allows the animal to orient itself even in complete darkness. It was described from Kyrgyzstan, captured approximately in the area of Przhevalsk. It inhabits the mountains of Kyrgyzstan and Southeast Kazakhstan, the Kalba and Southern Altai, the floodplain of the Ili River, and the Chilik basin, the Chu-Ili Mountains, and the mountains of Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.
Feeding habits. The forest dormouse consumes both plant and animal food. It eats a lot of beech nuts, acorns, and linden fruits. The dormouse particularly enjoys various fruits, berries, seeds, and tree buds.
Sources of protein for the dormouse include cicadas, caterpillars, grasshoppers, and other insects, as well as bird eggs and their chicks.
Periodically, when necessary, the animal stores food supplies. The forest dormouse lives in the thicket of the forest, preferring deciduous forests where there is underbrush, windfall, and old, fallen trees. It also inhabits gardens, overgrown ravines, gullies, and old clearings. Sometimes it can live among rocks. It occupies tree hollows, can build its nests, or use old bird nests. The nest of the dormouse is spherical in shape, located at heights of up to 12 m, but it also nests in burrows under roots.
The forest dormouse hibernates from mid-October to mid-April.
The breeding period for forest dormice occurs from March to December in the southern regions of their range and from May to August in the northern regions. The gestation period lasts 21-30 days, and 2 to 5 young are born at a time. Under very favorable conditions, a female may have two litters.
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