Gallery - Animals and Botanicals

SPINIFEX HOPPING MOUSE

Colour me in

Please feel welcome to print this image for your child (or yourself) to colour/paint/collage (you might like to give this little mouse a home by adding some grass, sand, dirt and/or leaves). Please note that if you print as is it will use up colour as the paper has a warm tint. I recommend printing as black and white so not to waste your ink.

Common facts

What do they look like? Can you describe their main features by looking at this drawing? The Spinifex hopping mouse (also known as the Tarkawara) have large dark eyes, large ears, a long tufted tail, and very big feet for such little creatures, which they use for jumping around like a kangaroo. They are small animals - about 10cm in length. Why not get out a ruler and see how long that is? Their fur is a light brown or sandy colour on top and pale (or cream) on their chest and tummy. They have light grey fur above their nose and between their eyes and ears. Their tail does not have much hair and so looks a pinky skin colour, except for the tufted end which is dark (black/brown). You might like to colour your hopping mouse following this description, or maybe you might like to colour it all the colours of the rainbow!

Where do they live? (Habitat) They live in the arid (dry) zones of central and western Australia, and they are very well adapted to the extreme temperatures of these regions. It can be extremely hot during the day (it can reach 70 degrees celcius!) and can be freezing at night! Not many creatures can live in these conditions but the spinifex hopping mouse has some clever ways to help it survive (briefly outlined below).

What do they eat? Leaves, shoots, roots and insects. When an animal eats a mixture of both plants and animals we call them an omnivore. Maybe you could be a little hopping mouse today and eat some leaves and roots. Did you know a carrot is a type of root? and your lettuce, spinach and herbs are leaves!

What do they do? Hopping mice are nocturnal and stay in their burrows during the day to escape from the heat. Their burrows are amazing! A series of horizontal tunnels that go about a meter deep! Do you know how long that is? Maybe you might like to measure both yourself and mark out a meter to compare, and then imagine a little mouse that could fit in your hand burrowing all that way! This incredible burrow keeps them very safe, and helps them to escape the heat. On a 70 degree day it can be 30 degrees in the burrow! They also keep safe by having the entrances to their burrows amongst spinifex, a fancy name for the long grass where they live. They live in groups of around 10 and when it gets cold they huddle together to keep warm. Why not give your parents or siblings a long cuddle and see how it makes you feel warmer :)

Who are their predators? Dingoes, owls, foxes and feral cats.

Are they endangered? Nope! Despite having several predators their populations are stable! How wonderful is that!

Amazing facts

They can survive without water! Can you imagine that?! Their bodies can absorb water very efficiently (so well) from the food they eat. Their burrows are also kept humid by all their breath. If you cup your hands together, place them over your mouth, and breathe into them a few times you might notice that your hands start to feel slightly wet. And, hmmm, not sure if i should add this part… hmmmm … well my girls got a good laugh from this… they drink their babies wee!

Activity ideas

Playing around with rulers and measurements - You could measure your children’s height and then mark out what 1 - 1.5 meters is, to show how amazingly deep the borrows are, especially when you consider how tiny the mice are! (10-15cm).
After watching the documentary me and the girls pretended we were hopping mice - we darted around escaping from an owl, burrowed, hopped around the mouse, huddled (to keep warm)…. have fun!
Call your grandparents (or other family or friends) and share with them what you have learned about spinifex hopping mice.
Be part of an online exhibition! If you would like to have your coloured hopping mouse be part of an exhibition please take a photo of your artwork and email it to aleta@animalsandbotanicals.com and if i receive enough i will make a little gallery page on my website.

Documentary

Here’s a link for an interesting and short (12 minute) documentary (my girls loved this! and this is where we learnt about the adult mice drinking the baby wee!) Enjoy! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RV8J-gWcnfE

For more information

To learn a little more and about the other four species of hopping mice you can visit Bush Heritage Australia at https://www.bushheritage.org.au/species/hopping-mice If you have any feedback or questions please let me know.

Love Aleta xx