News Animals

Summit living isn’t a problem for this tiny mouse

Andean leaf-eared mice living at high altitude make more heat than those at sea level

An Andean leaf-eared mouse sits on a rock against a black background.

Some Andean leaf-eared mice (one shown) have adapted to living at high altitude in part by generating more body heat than mice living at lower elevations.

Marcial Quiroga-Carmona

By Erin Garcia de Jesús

It’s not easy living the high life. Take it from the Andean leaf-eared mouse, Earth’s highest-dwelling mammal.

To tolerate the freezing temperatures atop dormant volcanoes, these mice generate more body heat than members of the species that live lower down, researchers report in the July 9 Science.