Meet Pat the oldest mouse in the world!
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Pat has been officially inducted into the Guinness World Records
A mouse weighing the same as three pennies is now famous around the world after officially getting his paws on the title of oldest mouse.
At nine years and 209 days old, Pat was named Oldest Living Mouse in Human Care by Guinness World Records on Wednesday.
Pat is named after the actor Sir Patrick Stewart - who you might know as Professor X from the X-Men movies.
He's a Pacific pocket mouse, which is an endangered species, and was born at San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance as part of a conservation programme.
It means something is at a very high risk of extinction in the wild
The team say the species play a "crucial" role in their ecosystems, spreading the seeds of plants, but there are just three small populations of the mice remaining.
The number of the mice fell dramatically in 1932 due to the loss of their habitat.
In 2012 the alliance launched the conservation programme to help save the species from extinction.
Last year a record 31 litters of pocket mice, with a total of 117 babies - which are called pups - were produced by the team.
Pat weighs the same as three pennies
The Pacific Pocket mouse is the smallest mouse species in North America.
They get their name from pouches in their cheeks that they use to carry food and things to make nests.
- Published11 October 2012
- Published2 October 2022
