One P. truei had a broken tail; three other individuals had tails about one-half normal length. One P. maniculatus had a shortened tail. Some of these injuries probably were caused by the Sherman live traps; several individuals of P. truei were released after having been caught by the tail by the spring-loaded door of these traps.
On October 17, 1963, an adult P. truei had a bleeding penis; when this mouse was recaptured on October 25, the injury was healed.
Losses Attributed to Exposure in Traps
Observations of wild mice caught in live traps suggest that metabolic maturity is reached later than physical and reproductive maturity. In such trapping, it became apparent that juvenal and young mice suffered from exposure to cold and to heat much more than did subadult or adult mice. Although traps were carefully shaded and ample nesting material and food provided, some mice died in the traps. An overwhelming majority of these mice were juveniles and young.
Traps were checked in the morning, both in the summer and autumn, yet mice died in traps that were barely warm to the touch, in summer, and cool to the touch in autumn. Older mice frequently were found in traps that were warm, or even hot, to the touch; yet the older mice rarely died in such traps. Apparently the tolerance of adults is much greater to heating and chilling. Greater bulk and perhaps longer pelage in adults might provide sufficiently better insulation to account for this difference.
Occasionally juvenal mice were found in traps in a sluggish and weakened condition, especially in autumn when nights were cool. In such cases the mice were either cupped in the hands and warmed until lively enough to fend for themselves, or, if especially weakened, were taken to the laboratory. None of such animals that were returned to the laboratory lived for more than two weeks. Most of those released in the field did not reappear in the traps.
I conclude that juvenal and young mice placed under stress by overheating or cooling die immediately or live only a few days. Subadult and adult animals tolerate more extreme conditions of overheating or cooling, presumably because they are able to regulate their internal temperature better, by either losing or retaining heat more effectively.
Mice found dead in overheated traps had salivated heavily, and may also have licked the fur on their chests to increase heat dissipation. One such adult, of P. truei, had a wet chest when he was taken from a warm trap; when released, this mouse ran to a nearby plant of Comandra umbellata, and ate a few of the succulent leaves before running off. This individual was trapped several times later in the summer, and apparently suffered no ill effects from the exposure.