Rare Tree Dormouse Was Found In Austria After Not Being Seen In The Wild For Over 20 Years

Dormouse are such a rare species that until now, available information about this fauna is extremely scarce. Ever since they had been found, this species was announced to be strictly protected under the European Habitat Directive due to their small number of existing individuals. For years, researchers have been wishing for a chance to meet this animal. Finally, in 2020, a tree dormouse was found in Austrian woods after not being seen in the wild for over 20 years.
This little animal was exposed by Anna Sophie Pirtscher, a forester, who had spent more than two years looking for it. The rare tree dormouse has silver hair, a bushy tail, and googly black eyes. Despite having a cutesy appearance, it is an omnivorous nocturnal creature getting active at night. Hence, when this dormouse was first found by the forester team, they had to be as gentle as possible to not interrupt the bedtime of this little friend.

Source: Anna-Sophie Pirtscher

During 2 years following the dormouse’s trace, Pirtscher was in collaboration with other federal foresters in order to conduct a deep research about the creature throughout Australia.

Source: Anna-Sophie Pirtscher

The researcher team began their adventure by looking for the animals’ nests and it was stated that there were 15 different places containing 30 nesting boxes. Tree dormouse are known to prefer mixed woods close to streams and they mostly use existing bird nests or tree holes for nesting.

Source: Anna-Sophie Pirtscher

According to Pirtscher, every time she opens one of these nesting boxes, “it’s nerve-racking. There might be a tree dormouse in there. But even if it’s ‘just’ a dormouse – I find these animals very, very cute and always exciting when you have such encounters.”
“We know that it exists. We know that it lives in the forest and eats seeds, nuts, and insects. But we don’t really know much more than that.”

Source: Anna-Sophie Pirtscher

Pirtcher’s efforts were then proved to be deserved. After two summers coming across Australia to investigate this animal, she finally found a real tree dormouse in the Postalm region. This was one of the most noticeable spots chosen to carry out the finding.
“Finally, finding a tree dormouse after two years and holding it in your hands is gigantic. That’s great.”

Source: Anna-Sophie Pirtscher

In the end, the skillful forester along with her teams came to the conclusion that they were right to choose Postlam as the destination for the hunt. They believed that the tree dormouse still remains their habitat ever since humans first discovered them.

Source: Anna-Sophie Pirtscher

After the dormouse was found, there were requirements for researchers to notice the species’ habits before actually doing research on it. Though knowledge about this animal was limited, they were determined to be the hibernating animal. Hence, researchers must ensure to carry out the investigation before the animal’s hibernation so as not to create any unusual impact on the animals’ daily activities.
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