Peromyscus Maniculatus - Habitat

Habitat

Peromyscus maniculatus are found in places including Alaska, Canada, and parts of South America. The majority of deer mice nest up high in large hollow trees. The deer mouse nests alone for the most part but will sometimes nest with a deer mouse of the opposite sex. They are populous in the western mountains and live in wooded areas and areas that were previously wooded. The deer mouse is generally a nocturnal creature. Deer mice can be found active on top of snow or beneath logs during the winter seasons.

Deer mice inhabit a wide variety of plant communities including grasslands, brushy areas, woodlands, and forests. In a survey of small mammals on 29 sites in subalpine forests in Colorado and Wyoming, the deer mouse had the highest frequency of occurrence; however, it was not always the most abundant small mammal. Deer mice were trapped in four of six forest communities in eastern Washington and northern Idaho, and they were the only rodent in ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) savanna. In northern New England deer mice are present in both coniferous and deciduous forests. Deer mice are often the only Peromyscus species in northern boreal forest. Subspecies differ in their use of plant communities and vegetation structures. There are two main groups of deer mouse: the prairie deer mouse and the woodland or forest deer mouse group.