Fun Southern Grasshopper Mouse Facts For Kids

The southern grasshopper mouse (Onychomys torridus) is a tiny but ferocious nocturnal rodent that is known for its aggressive and highly territorial behavior. It belongs to the Onychomys genus, which is described as a genus of aggressive rodents, justifying its history well.

Southern grasshopper mice have a high repulsion to external disturbances, and they do not like being bothered both inside and outside their territory. Unlike many rodents, southern grasshopper mice (Onychomys) are carnivorous and prey on uncanny organisms like scorpions.

They are known to prey specifically on the Arizona bark scorpion by withholding a remarkable resistance to their deadly venom.

The scorpion venom does not harm grasshopper mice like regular venom, which would inflict severe pain. Instead, it mutates a protein in its brain.

It only feels the pain initially but is immune to the implications. The other part of their diet consists of live animals, unlike many other mice who are scavengers.

They are monogamous by nature, but the only reason pairs might not last is that they end up killing and eating each other if there is a lack of availability of food in their environment.

They are habitual cannibals as well. Surprisingly, despite their atrocious image, they pose an economic benefit to farms.

It is a worldwide fact that rodents are a menace to farms, but what's better than the rodents who voluntarily prey on insects and invertebrates and are usually not interested in the plants to munch on?

The only competitor in this respect is the northern grasshopper mouse that preys more heavily on arthropods. Besides all the curious attributions, what makes southern grasshopper mice stand out is the mysterious howl that it produces before killing and eating its prey.

It's hard to figure out what goes on in their brain as there is no specific reason known as of yet.

Find these facts about the life of the southern grasshopper mouse intriguing? Check out some more fun animal facts on the white-tailed prairie dog and deer mouse.

Southern Grasshopper Mouse Interesting Facts

What type of animal is a southern grasshopper mouse?

The southern grasshopper mouse is a rodent.

What class of animal does a southern grasshopper mouse belong to?

The southern grasshopper mouse belongs to the Mammalia class, the class of mammals.

How many southern grasshopper mice are there in the world?

Currently, the population of southern grasshopper mice ranges across three species through the US. Being rodents, they are capable of surviving extreme conditions and are difficult to remove through human interventions.

Although they are sparsely spread across the US, it does not mean their range is to be undermined. Due to their high adaptability and high rates of fertility, they occur in wide numbers. Consequently, their high rate of occurrence makes it difficult to obtain an exact count of the species.

Where does a southern grasshopper mouse live?

Being natural residents of the desert, the southern grasshopper mice range is across western and south-western belts of northern America and northern Mexico, which includes locations like California, Utah, Nevada, and the Sonoran desert of western Mexico.

What is a southern grasshopper mouse's habitat?

The southern grasshopper mouse habitat consists of arid, semi-arid, and desert scrubs. They might occasionally be spotted in drylands with uncultivated lands left barren over a period of time. They are usually not found in tropical or humid regions.

Who do southern grasshopper mice live with?

Grasshopper mice (Onychomys torridus) are solitary animals. Complimentary to their territorial attitude, they do not live in packs or groups.

They only partner to live with their mates who they spend a lifetime with. Even so, they are not sure to last a lifetime due to their cannibalistic nature. Subsequently, they are not expected to be spotted in areas inhabited by humans.

How long does a southern grasshopper mouse live?

The life of an average southern grasshopper mouse spans around five years

How do they reproduce?

They can have multiple reproductive cycles and the breeding season is May to July, but they are capable of breeding year-round.

What is their conservation status?

 The conservation status of the southern grasshopper mouse (Onychomys torridus) is of Least Concern. However, their population is sparsely distributed across the United States.

Southern Grasshopper Mouse Fun Facts

What do southern grasshopper mice look like?

The southern grasshopper mouse has a tiny head and a tiny body. The body size of this mouse is 3.5-5.1 in (9-13 cm) excluding the tail size, which is around 1.2-2.4 in (3-6 cm) for the tail.

Its tail helps to keep balance for the body. The difference between the northern grasshopper mouse and the southern grasshopper mouse is the tail is white. It has a tiny but conical head with its mouth protruding out to prey on food.

The female tends to be larger and heavier than the male. Their tail length helps to keep balance.

How cute are they?

Opposite to their ferocious nature, this species has a very cute and appealing appearance, like that of a squirrel. It is easy to get fooled by their soft appearance, which makes it impossible to guess how dangerous they actually are.

How do they communicate?

Unlike common mice, grasshopper mice don't merely squeak. Instead, they are known for their infamous 'howl'. Their howl has a shrill and pure tone that resembles that of a big wolf. It is surprising that a creature so tiny can howl so loud. This howl is known to be a happen before the death of its prey.

How big is a southern grasshopper mouse?

The body size of this species averages between 3.5-5.1 in (9-13 cm). It is almost 12 times smaller than the American beaver, which is as big as 48 in (121 cm). The grasshopper mouse closely resembles its cousin species, the deer mouse, with respect to its size.

How fast can a southern grasshopper mouse run?

Southern grasshopper mice are not the swiftest when it comes to running. They are fairly fast, but their wide body and short legs disable them from speeding up in an open area. However, with the tail length in play, they can manage to make their way smoothly across a narrow lane.

How much does a southern grasshopper mouse weigh?

While this species of rodent is a tiny one and weighs only up to 0.04 lb (22 g), it is so tiny that it's more than 10 times smaller than the biggest rodent, the American beaver which weighs up to 70 lb (32 kg)!

What are the male and female names of the species?

Male and female mice of the species share a common name, Onychomys torridus. 

What would you call a baby southern grasshopper mouse?

The baby of this species are known as a pup, kitten, and pinky. Grasshopper mice pups may be raised by both parents or a single parent.

What do they eat?

The southern grasshopper mouse diet mainly consists of arthropods like beetles, scorpions, and grasshoppers. Arizona bark scorpions, which are considered one of the most poisonous scorpions in North America, are one of the favorite foods of the species.

Only 10-25% of their diet consists of plant-based foods. They are able to resist the sting of the bark scorpion until they tear it apart to eat it up. Nonetheless, they are tiny creatures who can be predated on easily.

Are they dangerous?

Yes. They are intense predators who tend to get paranoid if left hungry or untamed. They might end up biting you which could inflict terrible pain and serious implications.

Would they make a good pet?

This species is not fit to make good pets. Although they are cute-looking, they are extremely aggressive and fierce predators. Unlike the common house mouse, this mouse belongs to the wildlife, and it's nearly impossible and unreasonable to foster it indoors.

Did you know...

Although grasshopper mice are extremely territorial, it is ironic that they do not build their own burrows every time. They are occasionally known to take over the burrows of other rodents. Nonetheless, they do construct their own burrows for nesting and food storage.

The southern grasshopper mouse howls at the moon like a wolf.

Pups raised by two parents are likely to be more aggressive than the ones raised by single parents.

They have a special ability to bear pain and resistance against the bark scorpion venom, which is unique to their species.

They rank among the most aggressive species of their genus.

There are three types of grasshopper mice. These are northern grasshopper mice, southern grasshopper mice, and Mearn’s grasshopper mice.

It is the only carnivorous rodent in North America.

Why does the grasshopper mouse howl?

There is no exact biological reason as to why the southern grasshopper mouse howls, but the recorded instances confirm that the shrill howl can be heard commonly, right before it takes a kill. The howl can be identified as an indicator of prey being caught and ready to be killed.

Another reason which is unsurprising is that the howl is used for communicative purposes. Researches have confirmed that this mouse howls when its senses any threats to its territory, which could come from its fellow rodent.

Is the grasshopper mouse endangered?

With its rich evolutionary history and excellent adaptability in adverse conditions, the species has developed a strong sense of survival despite being of trivial size. Moreover, the southern grasshopper mouse range stretches across the most adverse locations, which proves why they are barely endangered.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! For more relatable content, check out these jerboa facts and juniper titmouse facts for kids.

You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable mouse coloring pages.

* Please note that the main image is a northern grasshopper mouse, a species in the same genus. If you have an image of a southern grasshopper mouse please let us know at hello@kidadl.com.