Glis glis
Silhouette: Ferran Sayol · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~50%
The European edible dormouse (Glis glis), also known as the European dormouse or European fat dormouse, is a large dormouse and one of only two living species in the genus Glis, found in most of Europe and parts of western Asia. The common name comes from the Romans, who ate them as a delicacy.
The word dormouse comes from Middle English dormous, of uncertain origin, possibly from a dialectal *dor-, from Old Norse dár 'benumbed' and Middle English mous 'mouse'. The word is sometimes conjectured to come from an Anglo-Norman derivative of dormir 'to sleep', with the second element mistaken for mouse, but no such Anglo-Norman term is known to have existed.
The Latin word glis, which is the origin of the scientific name, is from the Proto-Indo-European root *gl̥h₁éys 'weasel, mouse', related to Sanskrit गिरि girí 'mouse' and Ancient Greek γαλέη galéē 'weasel'. The European edible dormouse is the largest of all extant dormice, being around 14 to 19 cm (5.5 to 7.5 in) in head-body length, plus an 11- to 13-cm-long tail. It normally weighs from 120 to 150 g (4.2 to 5.3 oz), but may almost double in weight immediately prior to hibernation. It has a generally... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Triglav National Park | 🇸🇮 Slovenia | |
| 2 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 3 | Bavarian Forest National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Budapest Zoo & Botanical Garden | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 2 | Tropicarium | 🇭🇺 Hungary |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report an Edible Dormouse sighting in Bavarian Forest National Park on a given day, based on 6 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 12th most-seen of the 14 mammals we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
June
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report an Edible Dormouse in Bavarian Forest National Park on a given day, against under 5% in September and November–May, the lowest months.
Between 11 am and 2 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Edible Dormouse sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
3rd of 3
Of the 3 parks where we can rate Edible Dormouse sightings, Bavarian Forest National Park ranks 3rd at about 10%. The best odds are in Triglav National Park (Slovenia, about 20%) and Pyrénées National Park (France, about 10%).
Same order: Rodentia
The closest relatives of the Edible Dormouse that you can see in Bavarian Forest National Park (order Rodentia, Rodents) are Eurasian Beaver (about 40%) and Eurasian Red Squirrel (about 30%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Edible Dormouse is recorded against all the mammals logged in Bavarian Forest National Park (6 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
