• Question: How fast is a Hazel Dormouse on average?

    Asked by eleanor13 to Barn Owl, Brown garden snail, Common Crane, Emperor Dragonfly, Hazel Dormouse, Catshark, Scotch Thistle, St Kilda Wren on 3 Nov 2017.
    • Photo: Hazel Dormouse

      Hazel Dormouse answered on 3 Nov 2017:


      Although I do not know the exact speed of the Hazel Dormouse, there size is not far from that of a common house mouse. Based on that, I predict that the Hazel Dormouse is able to run up to 8.1 mph but considering there size it would feel more like 161.1 mph! In the trees, although they cannot run as fast, they are incredibly agile and able to jump between branches without worry.

    • Photo: Lesser-Spotted Catshark

      Lesser-Spotted Catshark answered on 3 Nov 2017:


      yes but how fast can it swim??

    • Photo: St Kilda Wren

      St Kilda Wren answered on 3 Nov 2017:


      The only study I know of which has recorded hazel dormouse speeds reported speeds of up to 1.2 meters per second, or 4.3 mph. The researchers noted that the animal was bounding at higher speeds; this means that while they weren’t running at top speed, they weren’t just walking, either. As far as I know, the true top speed of a hazel dormouse is unknown but, based on the speeds of other rodents, I’d imagine that hazel dormice could reach 8 – 10 mph.

    • Photo: Common Crane

      Common Crane answered on 3 Nov 2017:


      Is it fast enough to run away from a crane? Luckily for her, us common cranes are more into veggies (unlike some other crane species).

    • Photo: Scotch Thistle

      Scotch Thistle answered on 7 Nov 2017:


      I didn’t know a Hazel Dormouse could move that fast! As a species that doesn’t move at all I’m very impressed.

    • Photo: Emperor Dragonfly

      Emperor Dragonfly answered on 7 Nov 2017:


      I bet I could catch a hazel dormouse!

    • Photo: Tomeu the snail

      Tomeu the snail answered on 7 Nov 2017:


      I don’t know, because I would be too busy crawling away from it – I suspect that they would bother me and even eat me if they got a chance (mistaking my brown shell for a hazel nut?)

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