Dormice aren\u2019t actually mice at all (if one is being zoologically accurate), and it\u2019s quite possible that the name \u201cdormouse\u201d comes from the French word \u201cdormeuse\u201d which means both \u201ca sleeper\u201d (feminine), and \u201ca night cap\u201d (a cap to be worn at night). I don\u2019t like to think of dormice being used as nocturnal headgear, so I\u2019m going with the \u201csleeper\u201d interpretation. They do sleep an awful lot, hibernating for half the year and being pretty dozy for a lot of the rest of the time, but they\u2019re very endearing, and very special. They\u2019re endangered in the UK, partly because of habitat loss.<\/p>\n