Long lost species: rare mouse now moves to Salzburg Zoo

It is only about four inches tall, weighs up to 28 grams, and has small eyes and ear cups hidden in its fur. We are talking about the extremely rare Bavarian mouse with short ears. It was first discovered near Garmisch-Partenkirchen in 1962 and was considered lost for decades. She was not traced again until 2001. Now two of the rare, small, short-eared mice are moving to the Salzburg Zoo.

But the search for the Bavarian short-eared mouse continued. After evaluating one and a half million recordings from wildlife cameras, experts tracked down the small rodents in the autumn of 2023. After more than 60 years, a specimen was captured alive near Mittenwald. According to the Bavarian Environment Agency, the short-eared mouse is considered one of the rarest mammals in the world.

“Even small animals deserve protection”
“Our two Bavarian short-eared mice were born in the Innsbruck Alpine Zoo. There they were specially bred for the first time,” says zoo director Sabine Grebner. With the aim of building a maintenance population, the offspring were first given to two zoos in Germany and now to two in Austria, including the Salzburg Zoo.

“Many people know that the snow leopard, for example, is threatened with extinction, but most people have never heard of the name Bavarian field mouse,” Grebner emphasizes. “To preserve biodiversity, the little ones deserve just as much protection as the big ones. That is why we are very proud to be involved in this project.”

It is not yet clear when the rare voles will be visible to visitors. “Initially the focus is clearly on breeding the rare mouse species,” says Grebner.