Although they may live up to two years in the lab, the average mouse in the wild lives only 3 months, primarily due to heavy predation. Cats, wild dogs, birds-of-prey, and snakes prey heavily upon mice.
Mice can be harmful pests, damaging and eating crops and spreading diseases through the parasites and feces. The original motivation for the domestication of cats is thought to have been for their predation of mice and their relatives, the rats.
It is believed that mice cannot see colors, but they can see shades from black to white.
Did you know that mice sing? In 2006, Scientists at the University of Washington discovered that male mice and rats actually make high-pitched songs to attract females of their species for mating. There is no word yet on the scientific benefits of this knowledge, but it is interesting nonetheless.
In fiction, mice are popularly portrayed as loving cheese, but in reality most mice do not particularly like cheese, and prefer foods in their natural diet. Too much cheese may cause digestive problems and strong-smelling excrement. How cheese became famously linked to mice is because it smells strongly and has a good texture for being placed onto a spike in mousetraps.
Another common stereotype is that elephants are afraid of mice. This would seem to be nothing more than a myth, because elephants, being large, would naturally be unafraid of mice. But in an episode of the MythBuster’s, they found that there seems to be some truth to this myth.
The average house mouse can jump 12″ high.
Studies have been conducted on deer mice where the mice routinely found their way home over a mile away.
On average mice live for about 1.5-2 years, although they can sometimes live up to 3 years. This short lifespan is one of the biggest drawbacks to keeping mice as pets.
