Berry good news for mice
HARVEST has come late this year and this lucky mouse is reaping the benefit.
Britain’s smallest rodent spends a lot of time in cereal fields, which can be risky.
Harvest mice numbers have been dwindling since combine harvesters were introduced.
Georgette Shearer of the British Mammal Society says: “They can have three litters a year and use cereal crops for nesting. You can imagine what happens to the last litter when the harvester arrives.
“Any delay in the harvest can be a good thing for them.”
A breeding programme at Somerset’s Secret World animal rescue has been helping to boost the harvest mouse population and some have been released into the wild.