Edible dormouse   Edible dormouse in a cellar

The edible dormouse or fat dormouse (Glis glis) is a small dormouse and the only species in the genus Glis. Also known as Loir (esp' in France).

It was farmed and eaten by the ancient Romans (usually as a snack), hence the word edible in its name. The dormice were kept and raised either in large pits or (in less spacious urban surroundings) in terra cotta containers, the gliraria^[1], something like contemporary hamster cages.

To this day, wild edible dormice are consumed in Slovenia, where they are considered a rare delicacy and dormouse trapping an ethnic tradition. Use of dormice for food and fur and of dormouse fat as a medicament is documented there since the 13th century. Seasonal dormice feasts were welcome protein supplements for the impoverished peasantry.^[2]

The edible dormouse lives in continental Europe. It was accidentally introduced to the town of Tring in England through an escape from Lionel Walter Rothschild's private collection in 1902.^[3] As a result, the British edible dormouse population, now 10,000 strong,^[4] is concentrated in a 200-square-mile (520 km²) triangle between Beaconsfield, Aylesbury and Luton.^[5] Though this animal is regarded as a pest by some,^[3] in the United Kingdom the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 prohibits certain methods of killing and taking it, and removing them may require a licence.^[4]

References

• Amori, G. et al. (2008). Glis glis. In: IUCN 2008. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 13 Oct 2008.