The woodland jumping mouse (Napaeozapus insignis ) is a species of jumping mouse found in North America. It can jump up to 3 m (9.8 ft) using its extremely strong feet and long tail.
The Woodland jumping mouse is a medium-sized rodent and is similar to North American jumping mice but differs in having a white tail tip, brighter colors, and the lack of a small premolar in the upper jaw. Its sides are yellowish or reddish-brown peppered with black hairs. Dark-tipped hairs are intermixed with the dark brown dorsal band running from nose to tail. The underparts and feet are white. The tail is dark brown above and creamy white below with a white tip and is sparsely haired, thin, tapered, and scaly. These mammals can jump up to 3 m (9.8 ft) using their extremely strong feet and long tails.
Woodland jumping mice are found in North America. They occur throughout northeastern North America from central Manitoba to northern Quebec and south through the Appalachians to northern Georgia. These animals inhabit dense in cool, moist boreal woodlands of spruce-fir and hemlock-hardwoods where streams flow from woods to meadows. They also occur in riparian areas, bogs, and swamps.
Woodland jumping mice are solitary and nocturnal creatures. However they can also be active at dawn and dusk. These rodents live in nests or burrows. The burrows usually have multiple chambers. There is usually a room filled with nesting materials, which is used for sleeping or hibernation. Second, most mice have a room where they store and horde food for hibernation. And finally, there is a room with some nesting material for mating, and where the juveniles will be nursed. Woodland jumping mice hebirnate from September/November through April. They are territorial. Males have larger home ranges than the females and ranges of the sexes overlap. These jumping mice are normally silent, but the young squeak and make suckling sounds shortly after birth, and adults make soft clucking sounds while sleeping and just before hibernation.
Woodland jumping mice are omnivorous. Their diet varies with geographic location and season. They feed on fruits, seeds, fungi, berries, and insects.
Little is known about the mating system in Woodland jumping mice. The mating season starts at the beginning of summer (May) and ends at the end of summer (August). Females usually have 2 or more litters a year, each containing 1-12 juveniles. The average littler size is 3-6. Gestation is usually around 29 days. Young are born blind, naked and weigh about 1 g. Their eyes open on the 26th day and weaning occurs about the 30th day. Females nurse their pups while the male gets food to feed the offspring. The young first leave the nest after 16 days and become independent after 34 days or less. Woodland jumping mice reach maturity at around 38 days of age.
There are no major threats to Woodland jumping mice at present. However, agricultural, residential and industrial development reduces suitable habitat for species hibernation, and insufficient layers of insulating snowfall may result in high death rates during the winter. Southern populations are already confined to higher elevations in their range and are threatened by rising temperatures.
According to IUCN, the Woodland jumping mouse is locally common and widespread throughout its range but no overall population estimate is available. Currently, this species is classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List and its numbers are stable.
Woodland jumping mice are an important source of food for many predators. They may also play a role in dispersing the seeds of a number of the plants they eat and particulary fungi.
