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Definition of deer mouse
: any of various mice (genus Peromyscus) of North and Central America especially : one (P. maniculatus) widely distributed in forests and grasslands of North America
Examples of deer mouse in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web Each specimen—say, a species of pitcher plant from Florida or a deer mouse from arid New Mexico—is catalogued with a scientific name, a collection date and the place where it was collected, and often with other relevant information.
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Smithsonian Magazine, "How Museum Collections Could Help Scientists Predict Future Pandemics," 26 June 2020 The virus, carried by deer mice, left 13 dead including young, otherwise healthy people who developed sudden respiratory failure.
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Simon Romero, New York Times, "Checkpoints, Curfews, Airlifts: Virus Rips Through Navajo Nation," 9 Apr. 2020 In 2012, a booming population of deer mice in the park caused a rare hantavirus outbreak, which killed three people and sickened another seven.
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Washington Post, "Norovirus outbreak hits Yosemite Valley Park, with 170 suffering symptoms," 17 Jan. 2020 The virus was blamed on a skyrocketing deer mice population in Yosemite Valley.
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Peter Fimrite, SFChronicle.com, "170 Yosemite Valley visitors fall fill — norovirus confirmed in 2 cases so far," 16 Jan. 2020 Much of the research on cougar kills has focused on bigger animals; an earlier study by Elbroch revealed that 39 species of birds and mammals also visit kill sites, including black bears, deer mice, and Steller’s jays.
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Jason Bittel, National Geographic, "Cougar leftovers are home to hundreds of beetle species," 11 Mar. 2019 There are also copious birdlife and rare land creatures like the island fox, island spotted skunk, and island deer mouse.
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Joe Yogerst, National Geographic, "Top 10 wildlife encounters in parks," 9 Apr. 2019 When hantavirus emerged in the Southwestern United States in 1993, for example, research using the museum’s collections showed that the disease was present in deer mice as far back as 1979.
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Daniel Fernandez, Smithsonian, "How Globalization Changed the Way We Fight Disease," 4 June 2018 According to the ABC10 News, Spencer Fry, who is a tour guide at Bodie State Park, claims he was exposed to the deadly respiratory sickness spread by deer mice droppings or saliva after spending the night at the popular ghost town destination.
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Jessica Leigh Mattern, Country Living, "22-Year-Old Contracts Deadly Virus After Staying in State Park Cabin," 21 July 2017
See MoreThese example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'deer mouse.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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Time Traveler for deer mouse
The first known use of deer mouse was in 1833
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