‘Big Daddy’ harvest mouse fathers 30 offspring

A tiny harvest mouse from Secret World Wildlife Rescue in Somerset is living up to its nickname by ensuring his species continues.

The ‘Big Daddy’ is the smallest and rarest mouse found in Britain, and weighs so little that the stems of the flowers it likes to climb barely bend.

Determined to live up to his nickname, the little creature has fathered around 30 offspring at Secret World in East Huntspill, which have all been set free into the wild in a bid to boost falling numbers.

The mouse is unique in the fact that it has a prehensile tail, which it uses as a fifth limb to curl around the stems of flowers and corn.

The miniature rodents, which live in cereal fields, reed beds and hedgerows, are thought to have declined in numbers over the past 40 years because of changes to farming and the way habitats are managed.