HARVEST MOUSE: the biggest challenge for a tiny mammal

TINY, shy, and weighing less than a 2p coin, the harvest mouse is facing up to the biggest challenge of its life - warding off extinction.

Changes in agricultural practices, coupled with the attentions of cats and other predators, have pushed this once common mouse to the edge in many parts of the country.

Although it is not yet on the critical list like some species, alarm bells have sounded as more and more harvest mouse strongholds vanish.

With its blunt face and small ears, the harvest mouse looks more like a slim, long-tailed vole than a typical mouse.

Head and body measure just two and a half inches together but this is doubled by that thin tail of equal length.

The tail is actually prehensile and deployed as an extra hand to help the harvest mouse move swiftly through its normal habitat of tall grass or corn. In summer, the mouse's main fur is yellowish brown, giving it a better chance of blending in with ripe corn.

But in winter, the coat darkens to make the most of shadows and overcast conditions.

Underside fur remains milky white all year round, granting its owner greater anonymity when silhouetted against the sky from below.

Grain, seeds, fruit and insects are all part of the harvest mouse's diet and it feverishly hunts for these around the clock - making itself vulnerable to night predators such as owls as well daytime hunters like kestrels.

Most harvest mice are eventually snapped up or die of cold and wet but, by way of redressing the balance, Nature has made them prodigious breeders.

Females may give birth to three litters a year - each litter producing up to eight young.

These are reared in a spherical nest about three inches in diameter made out of tightly woven leaves.

The nest is also sited well off the ground to try to protect the offspring from lurking rats or weasels.

If you are often depressed by the failure of British tennis stars at Wimbledon, you can console yourself with the fact that some tournament balls have been used to help harvest mice. (Small comfort, I know, but it's the best I can do.)

Hundreds of balls were handed to The Wildlife Trusts by the All England Club, providing tough artificial homes for struggling harvest mice in Avon, Glamorgan and Northumberland.

Holes of about 16mm width were drilled into these balls to replicate natural nest entry points before they were attached to stakes at least 75cms off the ground.

Commenting on the scheme, Dr Simon Lyster, Director General of The Wildlife Trusts, said: "The harvest mouse is an excellent indicator of the health of our fields and hedgerows.

"In recent years it has been under increasing pressure and we hope that specific harvest mouse projects, such as providing artificial nests, will give them the help they need to survive."

Unusually for dogs, my long-dead labrador Duke seemed to have a nose for harvest mice when he was alive.

On a couple of occasions he somehow caught them, brought them to me, and dropped them unharmed at my feet - only to watch bemused as they immediately scurried off again.