This mountaineering mouse is the world's highest-dwelling mammal

[Judi Lynn]

The yellow-rumped leaf-eared mouse can live from sea level all the way up to the peaks of Andean volcanoes, surprising experts.
4 MINUTE READ
BY DOUGLAS MAIN
PUBLISHED JULY 22, 2019

The upper reach of Llullaillaco, the world’s second-highest volcano, is one of the most inhospitable places on Earth. The soil here, on this spire at the edge of the Atacama Desert, is red and Martian-looking. Though air temperatures rarely reach above freezing, the soil can get up to 90 degrees Fahrenheit under the sun’s intense glare.

Strangely enough, this mountain peak that straddles Argentina and Chile is home to the world’s highest archeological site: A cache of almost perfectly preserved mummies.

American climbing buddies Matt Farson, an emergency medicine doctor, and anthropologist Thomas Bowen have voyaged to this peak three times, in part to get a look at this site.

In 2013, it led to an unexpected discovery: The world’s highest-dwelling mammal.

While scouting ahead and searching for the best route to the 22,110-foot summit one day, Farson saw something move. He turned to look as a mouse-like animal scurried across the snow.

More:
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2019/07/highest-dwelling-mammal-mouse-volcano/?cmpid=org=ngp::mc=crm-email::src=ngp::cmp=Editorial::add=Animals_20190725::rid=