Mammals
Edible Dormouse
Glis glis · also called fat dormouse
Tucked away for what could be as long as eleven months of the year, an edible dormouse sleeps through nearly the entire calendar, emerging for only a brief window to feed on nuts and seeds before disappearing into hibernation once again.
Overview
The edible dormouse, Glis glis, is a bushy-tailed, squirrel-like rodent native to forest and mountain habitat across parts of central and southern Europe. Its extraordinarily long hibernation period, historical use as a Roman delicacy reflected in its name, and potentially extended lifespan tied to its low-metabolism lifestyle make it one of the more biologically unusual small mammals found anywhere in European forests.
Nearly a year spent asleep
Few mammals anywhere spend as little of the calendar year active as the edible dormouse, whose hibernation can stretch across eleven months, compressing an entire life’s worth of feeding and breeding into a genuinely brief seasonal window.
Status
Least Concern, remaining widespread across suitable forest and mountain habitat throughout central and southern Europe.
Edible Dormouse: common questions
Why is the edible dormouse named that?
This species was historically farmed and eaten as a delicacy in parts of ancient Rome, a culinary practice reflected directly in its common name, though the species is not commonly eaten across most of its range today.
How long can the edible dormouse hibernate?
This species can hibernate for up to eleven months of the year in some populations, among the longest hibernation periods documented in any mammal species, leaving only a brief active window each year for feeding and breeding.
Is the edible dormouse related to squirrels?
No, despite having a notably bushy, squirrel-like tail that gives it a close visual resemblance to a small grey squirrel, this species belongs to an entirely different rodent family and is only distantly related to true squirrels.
Does the edible dormouse live longer than other similarly sized rodents?
Yes, this species can live notably longer than many similarly sized rodents, and its extensive time spent in low-metabolism hibernation is thought to potentially contribute to this extended lifespan compared with rodents that remain active year-round.