Winter Home Ranges of the Red-Backed Mouse and White-Footed Mouse

A study of the home ranges of the white-footed mouse, Peromyscus leucopus, and the red-backed mouse, Clethrionomys gapperi, was carried out in northern Anoka County, Minnesota, during the winter and while the ground was covered with snow. Trap-revealed home ranges averaged 0.27 and 0.25 acres, respectively, when calculated by the minimum-home-range method and 200 and 217 feet, respectively, when calculated by the greatest-diameter method. The animals restricted their movements for the most part to protected areas such as brush piles and under logs rather than traveling over the whole area as they appeared to do in the summer and fall. Temperatures as low as −19°F did not prevent the animals from moving about.