The garden dormouse goes into hibernation in October
- Written by Portal Editor
Eyes closed, metabolism down: The garden dormouse, which belongs to the squirrel family, is now preparing for its long hibernation.
It spends the cold season well protected in crevices in rocks or tree hollows. While it goes into a kind of energy-saving mode, the German Wildlife Foundation is all the more active for the garden dormouse in order to secure its habitat for the future. (Picture Source: 2024 apodemus & Österreichische Bundesforste AG)
Bye, see you next year!
From around October to April, the garden dormouse hibernates because during this time it cannot find enough insects or fruit to eat. Hibernation is actually not sleep, but a reduction in metabolism - and a fascinating strategy to bridge times when there is little food. The garden dormouse adjusts its body temperature to the ambient temperature. Its heart beats significantly slower, only about 2 to 15 times per minute. In order to get through the winter well, the dormouse eats a fat deposit beforehand, which serves as an energy reserve. Once it has gained enough weight, it retreats to its well-insulated nest and curls up. From spring onwards, it is out and about in forests again, but also in gardens in the city, and climbs skilfully through hedges, bushes and trees in search of food.
If you happen to see a garden dormouse, you are very lucky, because the small animal is nocturnal and usually moves in secret. In addition, its distribution area in Europe has shrunk by half within a few decades. In the Harz Mountains, Germany's northernmost low mountain range, its habitat is also seriously threatened: many structurally rich forests have given way to species-poor forest monocultures. With its "Future for the Garden Dormouse" project, the German Wildlife Foundation is committed to the dormouse in the Harz and is setting an example for the protection of this rare species.(Image source BUND/Jiri Bohdal, project "Searching for garden dormice")
"We need to know exactly where the garden dormouse lives so that we can help it. Its occurrence is well documented on the Lower Saxony side of the Harz Mountains. We are now investigating its distribution in Saxony-Anhalt, outside the Harz National Park, in order to be able to implement targeted protective measures for it there," says Julia-Marie Battermann from the German Wildlife Foundation. Another goal of the project is to make the dormouse better known through committed public relations work. "We want to inspire young and old for the garden dormouse and motivate them to work for its protection," says Battermann.
With its work, the foundation is building on a previous project: in 2023, the German Wildlife Foundation's support group chose the garden dormouse as Animal of the Year and the search for the dormouse in Saxony-Anhalt began. In the new project, the investigation focuses on the towns of Wernigerode-Blankenburg, Thale, Elbingerrode, Hasselfelde, Benneckenstein, Tanne and Friedrichsbrunn. Supported by the German Postcode Lottery, the project starts on October 1, 2024 and runs until the end of 2025. When the garden dormouse awakens from its hibernation in the spring, it will already be in full swing.
Everyone can help in the search for the garden dormouse. The German Wildlife Foundation asks citizens who discover a dormouse in the project region to report their sighting to the email address This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. - if possible with the exact coordinates of the location, date, time and a photo. It is important, however, that the garden dormouse is not disturbed during hibernation and its vital energy reserves are not used up unnecessarily.
Photos of hibernating animals on request
Jenifer Calvi / Press Officer
German Wildlife Foundation
Lucy-Borchardt-Straße 2
20457 Hamburg
Telephone 040 970 78 69-14
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
www.DeutscheWildtierStiftung.de
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