Jumping Mouse, or Kangaroo Mouse, a small North American rodent. The jumping mouse is not a true mouse and is not related to the kangaroo rat. The body of an adult jumping mouse is about three inches (7.6 cm) long, the tapering tail about five inches (12.7 cm). Most species are yellowish above, with a dark band extending down the back. The underparts are whitish. Jumping mice have very short front legs. Their long hind legs and large hind feet enable them to leap more than six feet (1.8 m) when alarmed; their long tails enable them to keep their balance.
Jumping mice live in swamps, meadows, or woodlands, feeding at night on seeds, insects, and small fruit. The nests, built in burrows about one foot (30 cm) underground, are lined with leaves and grass. Usually, two litters of four to six young are produced each summer. Jumping mice hibernate during the cold months. The eastern jumping mouse and woodland jumping mouse range from Alaska to Georgia. The western jumping mouse ranges from Canada to the southwestern United States.
The eastern jumping mouse is Zapus hudsonius; the woodland jumping mouse, Napaeozapus insignis; the western jumping mouse, Zapus princeps. They belong to the family Zapodidae.
