Alaska sits at the northern edge of this species’ western mountain range, with the scattered records that exist reaching into wet meadow and streamside corridors around Fairbanks, Denali National Park, and the Yukon River valley rather than dry ground.
This mouse spends most of the year underground, hibernating on stored body fat rather than a cached food supply, and it’s only active through the brief snow-free season. When it is above ground it feeds mainly on grass and herb seeds in damp meadow cover, and its oversized hind feet and long tail let it spring away in sudden bounds when a predator gets close.
Alaska’s handful of records fall in July and August, the short stretch when the mouse is even reachable above ground. Absence the rest of the year reflects hibernation and how easily a small, fast-moving mouse goes undetected, not that the species has vanished from the state.
Full species profile
