Just Squeaking By?
Those of us who work very day with a mouse -- albeit the electronic kind -- couldn't fail to be alarmed at this news:
Scientists are concerned about the dwindling populations of two small fury creatures on New Mexico's list of endangered mammals.While some people are trying to build a better mouse trap, maybe we need to worry about building a better mouse.The state Department of Game and Fish says recent surveys show the number of New Mexican meadow jumping mice, known for their striking yellowish fur and well-developed hind feet, has dropped by at least two-thirds statewide — and possibly as much as 90 percent.
Surveys show the Arizona montane vole also is found only in a very small region of western New Mexico and eastern Arizona.
"The thing in common between both is the loss of riparian habitat along streams and rivers in the Southwest," said Jim Stuart, an endangered species mammalogist with the Game and Fish Department. "Grazing is often jumped on as a reason, but there have also been climate factors involved like the dewatering of streams and rivers and the lowering of groundwater."
Stuart pointed to the drought that has had New Mexico in its clutches, saying it can lead to fragmented or lost habitat and that any species can be affected, not just the meadow jumping mouse and the vole.