Servant mouse

The servant mouse, Mus famulus, also called Bonhote's mouse, is a small rodent in the family Muridae. It is found only in the Western Ghats of South India, where it is restricted to Eravikulam National Park, Avalanche, Kalapatti and Coonoor, at elevations of roughly 1,540 to 2,400 metres. It is a nocturnal, ground-living animal whose natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forest and dry lowland grassland. The IUCN has listed it as Endangered since 1996, mainly because of widespread habitat destruction, and its habitable area is estimated at less than 500 square kilometres and is thought to be shrinking in extent and quality. In India it is listed in Schedule V of the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972, as amended in 2002.