大象传媒

In a seven-year-old oak tree, dormice search for food. In summer these agile little creatures almost never go down to the ground and they are so light they can climb out onto the finest twigs. The oak needs their help because its leaves are plagued by spangle galls created by parasitic wasps. The galls are like a disease for the young tree but to the dormice spangle galls are delicious treats. By late summer the dormice abandon the oak in favour of blackberries and other ripening fruits and nuts. In autumn, dormice gorge on hazelnuts, fruits and berries in order to put on enough fat to see them through a 6-month sleep when they will not feed at all. Their hibernation nest is under the ground and lined with a thick layer of moss and honeysuckle bark to insulate it from the winter weather.