Ethiopian white-footed mouse

The Ethiopian white-footed mouse, also called the white-footed stenocephalemys (Stenocephalemys albipes), is a medium-sized rodent of the family Muridae that lives in Ethiopia and Eritrea. It weighs about 60 g, with a head and body of about 132 mm and a tail of about 162 mm. The fur is long, sleek and glossy, sandy brown above and pale grey beneath with an abrupt boundary between the two, and the large rounded ears are scantily haired. The upper surfaces of the feet carry white hairs, which gives the animal its common name. Its main range is the Ethiopian highlands, where it occupies upland forest, scrubland, rough grassland and pasture at roughly 800 to 3,300 m. It is nocturnal and mostly ground-living, eats mainly berries and green leaves, breeds in any month with a peak in the wet season, and usually raises four young per litter. It is probably the commonest rodent in the Ethiopian mountains above 1,500 m and is assessed as Least Concern.