A rare case of intraspecific killing by an adult garden dormouse Eliomys quercinus

Abstract Although intraspecific conflict is a well-known behaviour in mammals, intraspecific killing among dormice (Gliridae) is very rare in literature. In December 2021, a garden dormouse ( Eliomys quercinus ) entered a nestbox equipped with a camera and was filmed killing a conspecific male adult in the city of Wiesbaden (Germany). As this incident happened outside the mating season and the killed animal was not even partly consumed, territorial behaviour is a possible explanation for this case. In conclusion, it seems that our observation is a very rare one and the first one in the garden dormouse.