Four-striped grass mouse

The four-striped grass mouse, Rhabdomys pumilio, also called the four-striped grass rat, is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is found throughout the southern half of Africa up to 2,300 metres above sea level, extending as far north as the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It occupies many natural habitats, including savannas, shrublands, Mediterranean-type shrubby vegetation, hot deserts, arable land, rural gardens and urban areas, and the presence of grass is the only essential component of its habitat. The four stripes running down its back, together with its red-brown ears, are its most distinctive features. Its diet consists largely of seeds and plants, with insects eaten occasionally, and it nests in burrows that it builds itself.