The Hazel Dormouse
Muscardinus avellanarius

The Hazel Dormouse is common in Europe and all over Italy in mixed coppice woods and in dense shrublands made up of trees and shrubs which produce berries and nuts (from the common hazel, hawthorn and chestnut).
It has become rare in areas which have been subject to deforestation and have been transformed into intensive farming systems.
It weighs between 15 to 30 g and is 14cm long.
It has a furry tail and golden-brown fur, large black eyes and long whiskers.
It is a nocturnal animal, emerging from its nest at night and spends most of its waking hours among the branches of trees looking for food. It returns to its nest before dawn and sleeps most of the day.
In winter dormice hibernate in nests on the low branches of shrubs or beneath the leaf litter on the forest floor.
The nest is made up of grass, leaves and shredded bark but the dormouse may also use artificial nestboxes.
The hibernation period, which is shorter in the Mediterranean regions, lasts the whole winter and dormice survive due to the reserves of food accumulated during the autumn.
During hibernation its metabolism slows down to such a degree that the consumption of energy virtually stops.
Its temperature lowers to such an extent that the animal is cold to the touch and maintains just 1 or 2 degrees more compared to the external environment.
It feeds mainly on nuts (hazelnuts and chestnuts) seeds, berries, pollen, flowers that produce nectar and insects especially aphids and caterpillars.
Its predators are mainly mustelids even though most of them die during hibernation or from illnesses.