Pacific jumping mouse

Description:

The pacific jumping mouse is larger than other members of the genus. The coarse pelage is strongly tricolored. It has a distinct separation of dorsal and ventral colors. The dorsum is dark brown, the sides are dark orange-brown and occasionally flecked with black, the ventrum is mostly white or diffused with dusky brown, and the chest often has a patch of buff that extends to the venter.

Habitat:

Spotted in the Middle Bear Creek Natural Area. Inhabits alder salmonberry, riparian alder, and skunk cabbage marsh ecosystems as well as moist meadows, marshy thickets, and woodland edges with ferns and a weedy understory. Range is southwestern British Columbia south to northern California.

Notes:

Zapus trinotatus eats mainly seeds, but also fruit, berries, insects, fungi, mollusks, and fish. To get at the seeds it cuts plant stems and grass, and it leaves the remains in a neat pile. The Pacific jumping mouse forages at ground level, and it does not store food.