The Sleepy Dormouse

Product Information

Scientific investigations have indicated that rising temperatures in the UK and beyond are causing hibernators to be active more frequently and for longer times during winter, causing them to use up vital energy. They often choose to sleep in logs or leaves at the base of trees or just beneath the ground where they can avoid the winter cold. In the illustrated manuscript of the early version of the story that Dodgson presented to Alice Liddell ( London, British Library, Add. This species, the largest at six inches long, can sleep for more than 11 months of the year; that makes it the longest known hibernator on Earth.

During the summer, they accumulate fat in their bodies to nourish them through the hibernation period. We and our partners use data for Personalised ads and content, ad and content measurement, audience insights and product development.A simple story featuring teamwork and compassion that encouraged me to find out what a dormouse actually is to I could explain it to the kids.

The Dormouse makes cameo appearances in some crowd shots, popping out of a teapot that is on a table surrounded by Alice in Wonderland characters. Because the cold-blooded things rely on the sun to regulate their body temperature, hibernation is essential for their survival in colder climes.The colorful and humorous illustrations are lively and cheerful; googly-eyed Doug is, like the other characters, entertaining and expressive. It's also a really cute story, but since it's so short, I can't really say much about it without ruining it for you.

Dormice are also recognized as a priority species in the UK biodiversity action plan and they’re protected under the wildlife and countryside act 1981. The tiny dormice of today hail from giant dormice, an extinct ancestor (as big as a rat) from the Pleistocene. Coppice management of wood-lands has also excessively focused on creating an appropriate habitat for the sustainability of dormice. The dormouse at the Mad Hatters tea party is forever nodding off, talking and singing in its sleep, and this lazy, hopeless nature only enhanced their popularity.The dormouse hibernation period in the UK starts in November and lasts until April or even May, again depending on the weather conditions. Grey Squirrels, hedgerow and woodland fragmentation, climate change and a lack of coppiced woodland have all contributed to the decline of dormice. But the anecdote reminds us of the relationship people once had with these creatures—and their connection to nature more broadly.