Quimby (1951:75) notes that jumping mice were more common in the moist lowlands than in the drier uplands. More were in the open type lowlands than in the forested type, and these mice favored habitats normally bordered by small streams affording moist to semi-aquatic living conditions. The reports of Goodwin (1924:255), Christian (1936:416), G. S. Miller (1899:329), Cory (1912:249), Lyon (1936:277), Stoner (1918:123), and others, although concerning widely different parts of North America, indicate that Z. hudsonius selects habitats in vegetation of like form, even though different assemblages of plant species may be involved.
An average of 11.91 mice per acre was recorded by Quimby (1951:91) from a study plot at Itasca Park, Clearwater County, Minnesota. He gives the monthly population densities per acre for Z. hudsonius at Centerville, Anoka County, Minnesota, as follows: June 2.78, July 3.57, August 3.10, and September 1.81. Blair’s (1940:248) data on bi-monthly population density per acre for Z. hudsonius on the Edwin S. George Reserve, Livingston County, Michigan, are remarkably similar, when adjusted on a monthly basis, to those obtained by Quimby (loc. cit.). Blair’s (loc. cit.) monthly population densities per acre are as follows: June 3.90, July 3.85, August 3.10, and September 2.00. Townsend (1935:90) estimated population densities per acre for Z. hudsonius in central New York state, at 11 to 72 individuals. As Quimby (1951:92) points out, Townsend’s figures are probably too high, as commonly is the case when the moving quadrat technique is used because animals from neighboring areas enter the trapped area to take over the niches made available by their predecessors’ removal.
The population of Z. hudsonius may vary considerably from year to year as well as seasonally. Blair (1940:249) found notably fewer jumping mice on the George Reserve in 1938 than in 1939. Quimby (1951:94) found the numbers of Zapus to be highly variable and thought that there was a rapid turnover. Young animals were not caught until July when 25 per cent were either juveniles, young, or subadults; from this time on these age classes increased to a high of sixty-one per cent in September. Quimby (loc. cit.) found that separating the individuals into their proper age classes was more difficult in September, since the young from early litters are adultlike in appearance. His data indicate as he remarked, “That the over-wintering adults are, for the most part, gradually replaced by the young of the year as the summer progresses.”
The sexes in Z. hudsonius vary only slightly from a one to one ratio. Quimby (1951:63) found a sex ratio of 110 females to 100 males and Blair (1940:245) records a sex ratio of 113 males to 100 females. Townsend (1935:42) records a sex ratio in central New York of 155 males to 100 females. Such a wide variation from a one to one ratio suggest that the moving quadrat technique, which Townsend (1935:90) employed in obtaining his data, may be, in some way unknown to me, more selective for the males.
Behavior.—The saltatorial powers of Z. hudsonius are well developed and often have been described in the literature. Stoner (1918:123) remarks that, “When disturbed hudsonius moves away by a series of leaps … the distance traversed in one of these leaps is from six to eight feet.”; Cory (1912:249) observed these mice to make surprisingly long leaps, and, according to him, a distance of 10 feet is by no means unusual; Handley and Patton (1947:49) credit these animals with jumping eight to ten feet at a single bound; Hamilton (1935:190) remarked that he noted an average of not more than four to six feet per jump; Townsend (1935:91) observed one individual make jumps of about two feet; and Harper (1932:29) records a jumping mouse leaping for distances of two to three feet. Quimby (1951:72) notes that he had never seen one jump farther than three feet. He found that the greatest jumps occurred initially and normally covered a distance of two to three feet; subsequent leaps were shorter but more rapid. A jumping mouse in full retreat progressed by jumps of about one foot.
Statements concerning the gait of Z. hudsonius are not in agreement but the consensus of opinion is that these animals when unfrightened progress by a series of hops of one to six inches, or, occasionally, with a slow creeping motion while the animal is on all fours. When frightened, however, their progress is by long bounds; the mice make a series of two or three such leaps to the nearest protective cover, and then sit motionless until pursued.
Concerning the use of the tail as a balancing organ, G. S. Miller (1899:330) describes the behavior of a jumping mouse from which the tail had been severed by the sickle of a mowing machine. "When I approached, it made violent efforts to escape, but the moment it was launched in the air, its body, deprived of its balancing power, turned end over end so that it was as likely as not to strike the ground facing the direction from which it had come."
Riparian animals such as Z. hudsonius need enter the water to escape from enemies or perhaps in search of food. Zapus hudsonius can and does swim. Hamilton (1935:190) found it to be a strong swimmer capable of remaining in the water for from four to five minutes. According to Hamilton (loc. cit.), when the mouse is swimming the head is held high, the tail is arched near its middle, and only the hind limbs are employed in propulsion. According to Sheldon (1938:327), Philip Allan, in northern Minnesota, saw many Z. hudsonius swimming three or four inches under the surface of the water. The mice swam upstream and only the hind legs were employed in the swimming movements. N. A. Preble (1944:200), at Archer’s Pond, 3 miles southeast of Center, Ossipee County, New Hampshire, observed a jumping mouse swimming rapidly under water toward another portion of the shore 30 or 40 feet away. The mouse, swimming less than a foot beneath the surface, was vigorously using both forefeet and hind feet, but the long tail trailing limply behind, contributed in no way to the animal’s movements. Quimby (1951:72) released five of the mice, one at a time, in the open water of a lake. He followed alongside in a boat and observed that, “In all instances the animals proved to be excellent swimmers both on and underneath the surface. The methods of progression were similar to land movements; i. e., the limbs were employed differently at various times depending upon the speed. When first placed in water they moved rapidly by lunges produced by sweeping strokes of the hind limbs employed simultaneously. This movement was accomplished similarly to the long jumps made on land … Following the first excited lunges, they settled down to a steadier and slower gait using all four limbs one at a time. The anterior part of the body was held high in the water … When approached too closely, they attempted to escape by diving. The maximum distance noted was about four feet … One was able to swim vigorously for approximately three minutes after which it tired greatly and was in danger of drowning.”
As concerns digging ability, Goodwin (1935:148) reports that Z. hudsonius makes its own burrows; these are short and close to the surface in the summer but longer, deeper, and below the frost-line in winter. Two captives used their forefeet and nails in digging a tunnel in the foot of soil that Goodwin (loc. cit.) had placed in their cage. Quimby (1951:72) remarks that captives excavate soil by means of the front feet and throw the soil out behind; as the burrow deepened the hind feet were also utilized to throw the loose soil out of the burrow.
Zapus hudsonius climbs; Sheldon (1934:293) observed captive animals to climb over small evergreen trees in their cages. They moved with surprising sureness and agility, chasing each other among the branches or sitting for several minutes at a time on one of the limbs. Hamilton (1935:190) found that the mice ran over limbs and brush which were placed in their outdoor enclosure.