March 2016
The Service is seeking to raise conservation awareness for this small mammal. The New Mexico meadow jumping mouse (jumping mouse) has seen major population declines due to habitat loss and fragmentation across its range. It lives in thick riparian riparian
Definition of riparian habitat or riparian areas.
Learn more about riparian areas along streams from southern Colorado to central New Mexico and eastern Arizona. The jumping mouse is a small mammal that hibernates (sleeps) about 8 or 9 months out of the year and is only active 3 or 4 months during the summer. In this short time, it must breed, birth and raise young, and store up enough fat supplies to survive the next year’s hibernation period. These small furry critters only live about 3 years and usually birth 7 or less young per year. About 95 percent of its range in Arizona, New Mexico, and Colorado is found on federal and state lands. It was designated as endangered under the Endangered Species Act on June 10, 2014. Critical habitat was proposed for the species in June 2013.
What is a New Mexico Meadow Jumping Mouse?
