Reproduction
The breeding season is from late June to mid August, and results in only one litter per year. Males are non-territorial, and may visit the territories of several nearby females to mate, becoming aggressive to any other males they encounter. The male attracts a female by squeaking, then conducts a circular courtship dance before mounting her.
Gestation lasts from 20–31 days, and results in the birth of anything up to eleven young, although four or five is more typical. The young are initially blind and helpless, and weigh around 2 to 3 grams (0.071 to 0.11 oz). They develop their fur by 16 days, and open their eyes after around 3 weeks. They begin to leave the nest after around 30 days, and are sexually mature by the time they complete their second hibernation. Compared with similarly sized mammals, they have an unusually long lifespan, and have been reported to live up to twelve years in the wild.
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Famous quotes containing the word reproduction:
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“Were I called on to define, very briefly, the term Art, I should call it “the reproduction of what the Senses perceive in Nature through the veil of the soul.” The mere imitation, however accurate, of what is in Nature, entitles no man to the sacred name of “Artist.””
—Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1845)