Mammal Stereotypes - Mice - 22 - Page 1

Quiet, heroic, villainous

Mice are frequently portrayed in animation as shy and physically frail, often bookish, nerdy and/or glasses-wearing. A mouse is a small mammal belonging to the order of rodents, characteristically having a pointed snout, small rounded ears, and a long naked or almost hairless tail. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse. It is also a popular pet. This rodent is eaten by large birds such as hawks and eagles.

Cats, wild dogs, foxes, birds of prey, snakes and even certain kinds of arthropods have been known to prey heavily upon mice. Nevertheless, because of its remarkable adaptability to almost any environment, the mouse is one of the most successful mammalian genera living on Earth today. Primarily nocturnal animals, mice compensate for their poor eyesight with a keen sense of hearing, and rely especially on their sense of smell to locate food and avoid predators.