‘A place like Brussels may be the savior for the acorn mouse’
A strong mouse movement can fall against vertical walls of buildings and ‘let go’ its tail in case of danger? Before she goes into hibernation, get to know the Pixar invention.
The acorn mouse – 25 to 30 centimeters long from head to plume tail – is on the Flemish Red List because it has become so in the meantime. However, the species still survives in a few places in the northeast corner of Brussels, and also along the Brussels Ring.
Goedele Verbeylen, scientific assistant at Natuurpunt, has been researching Brussels acorn mice for two years now. “We’re trying to learn more about them so we can hopefully protect them better.”
“They like to sit in dense vegetation, which is often along highways and railway verges,” explains Verbeylen. “There are fewer horses in the agricultural area in Flanders, and the acorn mouse does not dare to venture into fields of kale. The population gets so isolated that they cannot survive.”
Connected via railway verges
“Places like Brussels may be the rescue plans for species like the acorn mouse,” Verbeylen says. (closed part of the Moeraske, ed.) Walckierspark, for example, has a population of acorn mice, just like in the (still recorded, ed.) Media park behind the VRT, and other small patches of greenery such as the Parkway/E40 grove.”
“The populations in those bushes are probably interconnected via the berms along the railway network, the E40 and the Brussels Ring. On the southern slopes of railway shoulders of highways, acorn mice can feast on insects that feel at home there.”
The shy superheroine loves a long hibernation. Around this time of year, the adults begin their nap. Living in the city can also have an influence there, the expert suspects. “Maybe acorn mice in the big city do better because it is warmer because of the heat island effect, so they may have a shorter hibernation and therefore reproduce more quickly.”