Saving the Pacific Pocket Mouse

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• published: 11 Sep 2013
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Scientists at the San Diego Zoo's Institute for Conservation Research welcomed their fifth litter of Pacific pocket mice on August 30, 2013. However the exact amount of pups in the litter hasn't been determined because the mother is protectively keeping the pink, hairless pups in the back of a densely packed nest. The nest, which is inside a capped PVC pipe, is filled with fibrous material and is maintained by the mother Pacific pocket mouse. Each individual Pacific pocket mouse enclosure includes PVC pipes that act as the tunnels and burrows for the Pacific pocket mouse, but still allows researchers to access and check on the animals. For now, researchers can only guess that the size of this fifth litter is between four and six individuals. Staff also estimates that the pups each weigh about one gram and measure less than an inch long. This birth is another success story for the inaugural captive breeding season of this critically endangered species native to California. There are now 11 juveniles at the Pacific pocket mouse breeding facility that have been born since June. And researchers are closely watching the other females that may be pregnant and may deliver pups before the breeding season ends, which is usually the end of September. The gestation period for a Pacific pocket mouse is just 23 days. "Any pup was really a success and we've surpassed that by having five litters - and we're expecting more," said Amaranta Kozuch, senior research technician at the San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research. "It's really nice to see what we're doing is working and we're able to move forward to the next breeding season and do even better." The Pacific pocket mouse breeding facility is several miles from the California coast but uses air conditioning and humidifiers to mimic the coastal temperatures and humidity the Pacific pocket mouse requires. The facility is also equipped with large skylights to make sure these nocturnal animals are attuned to the rising and setting of the sun, which cues their activities. The animals' nocturnal nature also requires researchers to observe them at night, so the facility uses red light, which is not visually perceived by the animals, to be able to observe the animals' behavior without disturbing them. In 2012, fewer than 30 adult Pacific pocket mice were captured from the three remaining wild population to form the breeding colony at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. The Pacific pocket mouse, thought to be extinct in the 1980s, was rediscovered in 1993 and today exists at just three sites along the California Coast: Dana Point, Santa Margarita and South San Mateo. Scientists working on the breeding program for the Pacific pocket mouse expect to increase the overall population and also maintain genetic diversity in the species. In the wild, the three Pacific pocket mouse habitats are divided by human development, so there is no chance for interbreeding. http://www.sandiegozooglobal.org