These quick, squeaky creatures just might steal your cheddar!

Who are these thieves? Let’s find out.

Mice belong to the order of Rodents. The most well-know mouse is the common house mouse. She is gray in color and tiny—only a few inches full grown! Other, less well-known mice are the American white-footed mouse, the deer mouse, and the field mouse. These aren’t encountered by humans as often.

The average lifespan for a mouse in the wild is only about four months! This is because mice make tasty treats for predators, such as birds of prey, cats, dogs, foxes, and snakes. Regardless of their short lifespan, mice are so adaptable, they are second only to humans in their ability to successfully adapt and flourish.

Mice are mostly nocturnal, meaning they sleep all day and are active at night! For this reason, humans rarely see mice…that is, unless they get up for a midnight snack and find a mouse munching on some leftovers sitting on the kitchen counter.

Mice can hear very well, although their sense of hearing is not as fine-tuned as their sense of smell. They use their powerful snoots for sniffing out food and to see if there is a predator in the area.  They’re also great jumpers, climbers, and swimmers—these tiny creatures can jump 10 inches off the ground, climb a flat surface with very little texture, and swim across ponds. That’s pretty athletic!