The Alabama beach mouse, an endangered species, lives in coastal dune ecosystems. It’s a small mouse with a buff colored patch on its back and snowy white underbelly. Strictly nocturnal in nature, they have large eyes and big ears to help them as they leave their burrows at dusk and remain active during the night. They are much less active on moonlit nights though to avoid becoming a late-night snack for predators. This dune dweller burrows small tunnels in the sand to raise its young and is generally considered to be monogamous.
Feeding primarily on seeds and insects the beach mouse diet includes beetles, leaf hoppers, sea oats, ground cherry, dune spurge, blue stem, evening primrose, beach pea, seaside pennywort and various acorns found in the interior scrub habitat.
As a visitor your will rarely catch a glimpse of this species but can often see tracks when walking on the boardwalk leading to the beach. Thriving beach mouse populations are an indicator of healthy dune ecosystems which help protect coastal habitats, especially during hurricanes. Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge protects the last remaining undisturbed beach mouse habitat found in Alabama, consisting of several key plant communities that form a mosaic of micro-habitats.