Moles are blind. Why do they think that the mole is blind? Moles are gluttons

Next you will learn:

Does the mole have eyes or have they completely disappeared in the course of natural evolutionary selection;
Are moles completely blind or is it a myth;
Why was evolution so “unfavorable” to moles, making them practically blind;
How do the eyes of different species of moles differ and is blindness normal for animals leading an underground lifestyle...

There is a widespread misconception that the mole has no eyes and, therefore, this animal is completely blind. It is clear why this opinion developed and received support among the broad masses: they say that the animal lives in its dark dungeons all its life, and it seems that it does not need eyes at all, since they still cannot see anything in the pitch darkness of underground passages.

However, if you, suppose, catch a mole in a garden plot and decide to take a closer look at whether it has eyes, then the absurd doubts about their absence will immediately disappear...

Do moles have eyes and why do people think they don’t have them?

In fact, the mole has eyes. In an ordinary European species, they are easy to see if you take the animal and spread the fur just above the nose, between the bridge of the nose and the place where the ears are supposed to be located (by the way, they are also not visible on a mole). Here tiny slits are found in the skin among the fur, and already under them are, in fact, the eyes.

Why is it believed that moles are blind?

The opinion that the mole is blind apparently arose from the testimony of people who noticed it in the wild or caught it in their areas.

Firstly, if you don’t purposefully look for the mole’s eyes, they are not noticeable at all. The animal's fur completely hides them, and nothing is visible on the head except the nose. At the same time, you should not expect that a summer resident or gardener, resentful of the damaged beds, will carefully pick at the animal’s fur, looking for its eyes. One glance (unfortunately, often at a killed animal) is enough to understand that the mole seems to have no eyes at all, and therefore the animal is blind.

On a note
Sometimes moles crawl out of the ground to the surface, completely unaware of the person nearby. You can even raise your hand to the animal, but this will not scare it, and it will continue to fussily search for insects in the grass. This once again indicates the poor eyesight of moles and serves as an additional reason to call them blind.

Secondly, the question is quite logical: why, exactly, does a mole need vision? After all, he spends most of his life underground, and comes to the surface only occasionally, more often at night. The need for such a luxury as eyes, into which dust and earth can get in during underground work, is highly doubtful.

Nevertheless, the eyes of a mole are still useful, but more on that later.

You also need to take into account that in some species of moles the eyelids grow together, and the eyes literally remain under the skin. They have eyeballs, and they even see something, but there are no eyes on the surface of the body - is this not a reason to say that moles are blind?

It is also useful to read: How does a mole winter and does it hibernate in the cold season?

In reality, moles can be considered blind only when their organs of vision, wherever they are located, do not transmit any information to the brain. In most species of these animals, the eyes work for their intended purpose, like optical instruments, albeit very weak ones. Moreover, even being under the skin, they see, distinguish between light and darkness, and make the animal sighted to a certain extent.

This is interesting
Some types of moles see very well (for underground inhabitants). For example, the long-tailed mole belongs to this family, whose vision is similar to that of shrews.

At the same time, the term “blind mole” itself, although not correct, is used in science. In science, in general, there are many such inaccuracies, and a separate species of mammal is called a blind mole.

What do mole eyes look like and what are they capable of?

The eyes of most mole species are relatively small in size and are almost completely hidden in the fur. In the European species they are closed by movable eyelids, and most often remain in this closed state.

The diameter of the animal's eyes is approximately 1-2 mm. In general, the structure of the retina is the same as that of most other mammals. The eye itself contains approximately 2,000 ganglion cells, and the optic nerve has approximately 3,000 axons.

The photograph clearly shows how small the eyes of the common (European) mole are:

At the same time, rods and cones, standard for mammals, are absent in moles, and all photoreceptors have almost the same shape, are very small, and are completely atrophied along the periphery of the eye. The specificity of vision in an animal is connected with this:

The mole has daytime vision, although not as effective as that of a human, but sufficient for its own needs;
The animal can distinguish some contrasting colors;
The animal does not see the outlines of objects, but responds well to pronounced changes in illumination. At least under experimental conditions, animals successfully solve the task of distinguishing between light and dark;
Moles see moving objects. Some scientists are inclined to believe that it was the detection of predators through vision that ensured that moles retained, albeit weak, their ability to see.

It is interesting that even in moles, whose eyes are hidden under the skin, they also see and provide the animal with the ability to distinguish between light and darkness. Just as we can see a source of bright light even through thick fabric, so moles see it even through the skin of their eyes.

Therefore, by the way, it makes no sense to talk about hyperopia or myopia in moles. With their very mediocre visual abilities, the distance at which they see plays practically no role (it’s like calling a person with a blindfold that barely allows light through their eyes to be called nearsighted).

The photo below shows the Eastern mole:

There is also an interesting myth that a mole can see other moles well due to the special structure of its eyes. In fact, with the help of vision alone, a mole cannot distinguish its fellow from, for example, a rat (just a neighbor) or an ermine (already a dangerous predator). Identification of the animal both underground and above occurs in the mole through the sense of smell.

Read also: Outdoor gazebos with barbecue

It is known that moles, like some other insectivorous animals, have a strong musky odor. Although it is not comparable in strength to the stench from shrews, it is quite enough for one individual to smell another at a sufficiently large distance, especially considering their well-developed sense of smell.

Is the mole blind?

The photo below shows the head of a common European mole:

The spot that the arrow points to is the animal's eye. Moreover, this is a full-fledged eye that sees, albeit not as well as a person’s.

The vast majority of past studies have not reached the clinical stage. The consensus is that it is completely impossible to make predictions from mice and apply them to humans. We are not alone in facing this frustrating situation. Our team has been approaching potential donors for over a year without success. Maybe this will tip the scales in our favor. Jeff in Manassas writes: I could use some tips. They are in the grass and flower beds and we are completely at a loss as to how to ask them kindly to move on.

Anything you can suggest would be great! Now: Moles make raised tunnels in lawns that you can destroy by pressing hard on them, but don't harm the plants. Wolves make small runway-like paths on the surface of lawns and eat underground parts of plants such as spring bulbs and the roots of plants such as hostas.

However, it is true that the vision of moles in general is relatively poor. They can:

Distinguish between primary colors;
Distinguish between light and darkness;
Register the movement of objects with your eyes;
Seeing large objects that stand out (for example, a large pile of dirt against a background of green grass).

At the same time, a mole is not able to distinguish, for example, a hidden predator (for example, a ferret) from a stone. He cannot see a worm lying motionless on the ground, but detects it through his sense of smell and touch. Tactile abilities are especially developed in the so-called star-nosed moles, which have very sensitive mobile outgrowths in the nose area.

What form of pest do you have? Moles are blind and strange, although people rarely see them. They live underground and are 100% carnivorous, only eating beetles, earthworms and cicada larvae. Wolves are mouse-like Scottish creatures with dark fur. They reproduce with great fertility and are sometimes visible aboveground. Those who suffer from them often see their well-travelled paths trampled on their lawns. Like moles, their food is also all underground. But they are vegetarians; and voracious pests love spring bulbs such as tulips and perennial roots.

Below is a photograph of a star-nosed mole - this animal has a kind of additional “tactile” vision due to sensitive outgrowths, with which it quickly feels the path in front of it when moving:

Also, most species of moles do not see distant objects. The radius of their vision is about 1-2 meters, and everything that is further is a blurred background.

Vibrating boards are just waste of good batteries

Oh joy, says Jeff.
I believe we both are. We have a lot of raised tunnels in the yard and our spring bulbs and perennials are disappearing. Jeff in Manassas has both moles and voles. He writes: "We tried to use bets that send a pulse and don't know what to do next." Your experience is not surprising, Jeff. But they are nevertheless ubiquitous. Federal law requires liquid and granular herbicides and pesticides to be effective to be legal for sale. Unfortunately, “devices” are outside the scope of federal guidelines and do not have to be proven effective; they can be sold for any reason.

However, the presence of eyes and the ability to see with them suggests that moles are not blind. Thus, the saying “blind as a mole” is not entirely correct, although it is quite understandable why it appeared...

Why does a mole need vision?

So, let's see why a mole needs vision in its dark underground passages.

We draw conclusions from what was said earlier:

First of all, a mole needs eyes in order to navigate in space if it gets out onto the surface of the earth . Here he can understand that he did not just find himself in some wide tunnel underground, but rather got out into the sunlight. Even on a moonlit night, the animal can distinguish a dungeon from an open space;
Even the mole’s underdeveloped eyes allow it to notice moving prey - earthworms, insects, small lizards and frogs;
Moles use their eyes to see predators entering their tunnels. As a rule, if such a predator climbed into a mole tunnel or dug it up purposefully to catch an animal, the owner of the dungeon will most likely be killed. However, if the danger ended up in the tunnel by accident, and the predator does not plan to look for and kill the mole, but only wants to get out, then the mole itself has the opportunity to retreat from the dangerous area and hide in other passages.

In addition, the eyes help the mole navigate in space when the animal makes passages under the snow in winter (it is usually quite light here). Vision also helps when crossing small rivers and other water barriers - star-nosed moles, for example, swim well and can even hunt underwater.

Perhaps it is precisely because moles have eyes that help them survive in harsh and merciless natural conditions that they have not yet completely disappeared. Although, apparently, natural selection is moving precisely towards complete degeneration of the visual organs in these animals.

Can a mole live without sight?

The mole actually uses his eyes all the time. Research shows that it:

He strives to get away from bright light - this allows him to constantly be under the cover of the soil, and appear on the surface mainly in the dark, when most of his enemies are sleeping;
Notices a predator that has failed or deliberately climbed into a tunnel, mainly due to the ability of the eyes to register movement. And although in this situation the animal does not always manage to escape, often it is the detection of the predator using vision that allows it to stay alive. And such “sighted” individuals, by further participating in reproduction and passing on their genes to offspring, inhibit the evolutionary degradation of vision;
When going under the snow or onto the soil surface, the animal can use its eyes to detect moving prey.

It is also useful to read: What do moles eat in the forest, as well as in vegetable gardens and summer cottages?

That is, the mole’s vision helps a lot in his difficult life.

At the same time, under normal conditions, a mole can perform almost all actions necessary for life without using its eyes. Collecting worms and insects in tunnels, searching for a sexual partner, making new tunnels, raising offspring - all this does not require the use of vision, at least the absence of it is not critical for performing these operations. And even a completely blind mole can cope with these tasks quite well.

Highly organized large eyes that provide sharp vision, under conditions of regular underground work, would constantly become clogged, fester, leading to illness and death. Perhaps this is what happened in the distant past, while moles adapted to underground life, and natural selection mercilessly weeded out those whose vision was worse than required, but better than necessary for survival.

We conclude: a mole is capable of living without vision. But in many cases it makes his life easier, and sometimes even saves him. That is, vision for a mole is like the ability to run fast for a person: it usually does not help to earn money and build a career, but in dangerous situations it can be extremely useful...

Animal eye degeneration as a form of natural selection

From the point of view of evolutionary theory, the gradual simplification of the structure of the mole's eyes and the loss of many functions by them is a way of adapting to the lifestyle that this animal leads. Moreover, the regression of the animal’s vision system is associated not only with the lack of need for a clear visual picture, but also with the harmfulness of full-fledged eyes underground.

If a mole had normal large eyes, like, say, rats or mice, then with constant digging of underground passages, earth and dust would get into them. This would lead to eye contamination, inflammation, suppuration and death of animals. The smaller the eyes, the more difficult it is to damage them, and when they are constantly closed with eyelids, they are reliably protected from external influences;
Since the sense of smell is much more important for moles, most of the analyzers in the brain are responsibly focused specifically on processing information from olfactory receptors (in star-nosed moles, the sense of touch also plays an important role). The involvement of extensive brain structures in processing visual information would not be rational.

The photo below shows the eye of the Iberian mole:

By and large, moles at this stage of their evolution are moving towards the complete disappearance of their eyes. This form of natural selection, according to different classifications, is:

Driving - with it, an advantage in survival is found in animals that deviate from the norm of development of a particular trait. The norm is predominantly open, not very small eyes, but in the case of moles, individuals with constantly decreasing eyes that close with eyelids more often survived. That is, natural selection moves these animals towards complete degeneration of vision.
Cutting off, since individuals with “normal” eyes died more often due to eye lesions.

By the way, it is precisely these forms of selection that are characteristic of almost all animals with certain reduced organs. Including for people who have practically degenerated the muscles that move the ear, or, for example, the coccyx, in the place of which their ancestors had a tail.

If you look at the entire family of moles, or even better, at the entire order of shrews, then the gradual reduction and disappearance of eyes in species leading an underground lifestyle becomes clearly visible.

Eyes of different types of moles

Various relatives of the familiar European mole have eyes either the same as his, or even more reduced and do not even open at all.

In Caucasian and blind moles they are hidden under the skin and are practically invisible. With their help, the animal can at best distinguish only daylight from darkness;
The mogera has the same thing, the eyes are covered with skin (the photo below shows the Japanese mogera);
The Siberian mole's eyelids open, and its eyes see in much the same way as the European mole's. The American star-nosed and shrew moles, as well as the Townsend's mole, have the same eyes;
The Chinese shrew mole's eyes are normally developed, approximately the same as those of shrews. But in general, in terms of its appearance and way of life, this mole occupies an intermediate position between moles and shrews. His example clearly shows the transition from terrestrial animals of this order to underground ones.

We can conclude that the evolution of moles began with shrews. Their eyes are small, their vision is weak, but much more developed than that of moles. They also have a well-developed sense of smell. These animals hunt mainly in thick grass, forest floor, under stones and snags.

Most likely, the process of evolution went as follows: in ancient times, individual populations of shrews, finding themselves in suitable conditions with soft, turfed soil, began to specialize in obtaining food precisely under stones, under moss and under leaves, at first simply raking the crumbling soil in search of food, and then making more and more passages here. Gradually, these passages became the main place for the animals to stay, rest, reproduce and hunt. The need for vision began to fall, and dirty eyes led to the elimination of individuals with large eyeballs and weak eyelids from the population.

Today, the long-tailed mole, which looks more like a shrew, is on the first step of the evolutionary ladder to the underground, the common mole is on the second, and the Caucasian or blind mole is on the third. Golden moles and marsupial moles are even more adapted to life underground, but they are already representatives of other orders. Looking at them, however, one can imagine what the “moles of the future” will look like in a few million years.

Read also: How to preserve sphagnum moss

In the photo - Cape (ordinary) golden mole:

In the order Shrews there are several other species of animals with greatly reduced vision - muskrats. Their eyes are clearly visible, but they do not distinguish the contours of objects, they are very nearsighted, and the animals rely mainly on touch and smell when hunting. But given the lifestyle of muskrats, they should be considered a parallel branch of development of the ancestors of today's shrews, the representatives of which switched not to an underground (like moles) way of life, but to a semi-aquatic one.

All these conclusions are also confirmed by the fact that representatives of other orders of mammals, switching to an underground lifestyle, also lose vision, and their eyes are reduced. For example:

Mole rats are representatives of the order of rodents. They lead an underground lifestyle, their eyes are completely hidden under the skin;
Mole voles are also rodents and also prefer to live underground in burrows. However, their eyes, although small, are clearly visible and see well;
Zokors, very close to mole rats. They have faintly visible but seeing eyes;
Golden moles, more closely related to hedgehogs. Their eyes are located at a depth of approximately 4-5 mm from the surface of the skin and see absolutely nothing;
Marsupial moles, whose eyes are not visible at all, but in their place there are pigmented spots. It is noteworthy that these animals even lack the optic nerve.

These are all examples of feature convergence. Rodents, moles, golden moles and marsupial moles are in no way related to each other, and none of these groups of animals could have descended from the other. Their general reduction in vision developed due to adaptation to a similar lifestyle, which means that it is the loss of the eyes (with the simultaneous exacerbation of other sense organs) that contributes to the survival of these animals.

Since childhood, every schoolchild has been taught that moles are blind underground animals. No one sought to challenge this opinion, guided by the fact that eyes are not needed underground. But some scientists and naturalists became interested in checking whether the mole has eyes and how well he sees with them. At first glance at this unusual animal, it is impossible to notice the eyes and ears. The head has a streamlined shape with an elongated nose and a small mouth. But in addition to this, the animal has excellent hearing and poor vision. But its underground lifestyle determined the presence of an unusual structure of sensory organs.

Why are moles blind?

Surely, you know the legend about how God deprived moles of their sight. If not, then it says that moles constantly burrowed in the ground and spoiled the trees in God's Garden of Eden. God promised that he would restore the sight of moles if they dug as many holes as there were stars in the sky.

In order to understand what this unusual blind animal is, it is necessary to conduct an experiment: take the mole out of the hole and plant it on the surface of the earth. You will see that he will immediately begin to run from side to side in search of loose soil in order to quickly hide. Do you know that moles are able to burrow into the ground in one minute, since their favorite habitat is the underground kingdom.

Obviously, an animal like a mole, which spends its entire life underground, has no need for vision. For its existence, it finds everything it needs underground, including food. It mainly feeds on earthworms and insects. He is constantly in search of food, since he is not able to withstand more than twelve hours without food. The entire body of moles is adapted just to this way of life. Even the fur of these animals has a black earth tint and grows in a special way, that is, straight, which is very convenient for moving underground in any direction.

But moles still have eyes, although their size can be compared to the head of a pin. They are tightly covered with eyelids and fur, protecting the eyes from soil getting into them. Moles practically do not use vision, but, nevertheless, they can distinguish between darkness and light. This kind of ability helps them in case of danger. If moles see an opening, they immediately burrow deeper so as not to end up on the surface of the earth.

In winter, moles spend all their time in the non-freezing upper layers of the soil, where food can always be found. Moles cannot be called completely blind. These amazing and unusual animals have a well-developed sense of smell and touch. We can safely say that strong claws, wide shovel-shaped paws and a keen sense of smell are precisely the real vision of all moles. It is this “vision” that helps them survive underground, where there is no light at all. There are moles whose eyes are completely covered with transparent thin skin.

And in conclusion, moles are perhaps the most famous animals that dig holes in the places where they live. These small and almost blind workers make up to hundreds of holes and up to a kilometer of tunnels in one day.

Appearance

Moles lead a life hidden from prying eyes, spending all their time in their underground passages and burrows in search of food. They rarely come to the surface of the earth, so there is no way to look at them more closely. But if you carefully approach the animal, it may allow itself to be examined. It is impossible to say for sure whether moles see their surroundings or rely only on their instincts.

Most often in central Russia you can find the common mole. If you look closely at the place on his head where the organs of vision should be located, you will notice small round eyes. They are almost hidden by fur. In some species, the mole's eyes are hidden under a fold of skin, which can grow together and completely hide the visual organ. The ears have an internal structure and are also covered with thick hair.

Mole's eyes

Why are eyes needed?

When asking the question: are moles blind or not, another mystery arises - is it necessary for these secretive burrow inhabitants to have vision? Making its way through underground passages in complete darkness, the animal completely relies on hearing and smell. This is quite enough to detect the mole’s favorite delicacy in the form of an insect.

There are several reasons why a mole needs eyes:

poor vision helps to navigate in space, getting out to the surface of the earth;
sometimes an animal can see a predator on its way, which contributes to its flight from danger;
when caught in snowdrifts, the digger relies on his vision to navigate his way through the snow;
Some species of animals overcome water obstacles, orienting themselves with the help of their visual organs.

If vision is of great importance in the life of an underground dweller, then why are his eyes so small. This is explained quite easily: in constant movement underground and making a path through the soil, its eyes are constantly exposed to pollution. If they were not protected by thick fur or folds of skin, the mucous membrane of the eyeball could be vulnerable to inflammation.

Not all moles can see

Among the numerous species of these animals, there are representatives with fairly good eyesight. These include long-tailed moles. The structure of their eyes is very similar to shrews, which are able to distinguish all objects and quickly respond to danger.

The small mole, which lives in southern European countries, has a fold above its already small eyes. For this sign he is called blind. But it can also discern light through the fold. The Caucasian species of the animal has the same fold above its eyes.

The presence of eyes in some species of shrews is often associated with their need to get to the surface of the earth. Animals that are almost constantly in deep burrows do not have an optic nerve.

There are also absolutely blind animals. These are marsupial moles. They lack the optic nerve, and in place of the eyes there are pigment spots. Golden moles also cannot see anything. Their eyes are located 4-5 mm deep under the skin. Even flashes of light will not be visible to these types of diggers.

The absence of the optic nerve is compensated by other more acute sense organs. The nose of an underground dweller has a tactile function. By touching the worm with it, the animal recognizes the body temperature of the worm, its size, and species. The animal's developed sense of smell allows it to smell an enemy from a distance or find a sexual partner.

A wormhole or the most amazing creatures under our feet.

Dear readers. Second marathon article.

Even small children know that this animal does not see anything. Older people know that the common mole is a soil mammal. In this article we will look at how this little animal lives, what it eats and what it does.

Common mole. Description

Representatives of this species can live in forests, fields, steppes and meadows. The European or common one (Talpa europaea) is often found. Where he lives is always dark, which is why he has no eyes. Although some individuals have small organs of vision, the only function of which is to distinguish light from darkness. How did it initially become known that the common mole is a soil animal? People were prompted to this idea by piles of soil on the surface of the earth. These are the so-called molehills. While watching them, we discovered this animal. Later, while studying it, the person determined that the mole had no vision. At the same time, the animal has developed other sensory organs that make it possible to use smell, touch and hearing to a large extent. His ears are located inside.

Special constitution

The common mole is a small animal, only 10-20 centimeters in length. There is a tail located behind its body. Its length is 2 centimeters. In addition, the structure of the body also allows the mole to move underground without interference. Its skin is covered with smooth, short fur, pleasant to the touch. It does not interfere with turning and backing in dark passages, due to the fact that it grows upward and not backward. Most often, the animal has black fur, although sometimes there are exceptions in the form of ash or brown shades. But still, the fur is not immune from damage. After all, a mole has to move in a confined space.

Reverse

In order to restore hair in time, these animals shed 3-4 times a year. They acquire the most beautiful fur after the autumn molt, which begins at the end of October. In winter it grows taller and thicker, and in summer “relief” sets in again and the coat becomes shorter and thinner. The animal's muzzle is elongated and covered with sensitive hairs.

It is known that the common mole can “walk” backwards. It has this ability thanks to the vibrissae growing on its tail. He has a special tool that makes movement easier. The common mole digs underground passages using its paws. If you look at it closer, you can see that they are wide, powerful, equipped with strong claws. The mole works with these “shovels”, moving in endless underground tunnels.

Prose of life

Moles sleep several times a day: 2-3 hours. In winter they do not hibernate, but move in deep, non-freezing layers of soil. It would seem that nothing threatens the moles underground. But that's not true. The moment it appears at the surface of the earth, throwing out excess soil, it can be grabbed by martens, foxes, and birds of prey. Although they do this only when they cannot get other food. Because the smell of a mole is unpleasant to other animals. In addition, various diseases and parasites, such as fleas, ticks, and worms, pose a danger to them. In favorable conditions, these animals live 3-5 years. Moles do not get along well with each other. They fight for territory, do not live in families and do not hesitate to eat their comrade after his death.

Nutrition

The mole is called a pest because, moving underground in vegetable gardens, it gnaws the roots of plants, which then die. But it is a mistake to think that this animal eats greens. He is far from a herbivore. What does the common mole eat? He is an insectivore. The mole eats all representatives of invertebrates that come across its path: mollusks, larvae, worms, slugs, centipedes, woodlice. It happens that he gets lizards, mice and frogs. This little guy is a terrible glutton. This is not surprising, since small mammals have to eat a lot to maintain body heat. He consumes an amount of food equal to his weight per day (60-100 grams). In winter, he eats what he managed to store.

Increase in numbers

The common mole strives to leave offspring, like any other creature on our planet. For this purpose, the male mates with the female. This usually occurs in March or April. After a month, the female brings forth offspring in the amount of 4 to 9 cubs. Initially, they are not covered with hair, are very small and require constant care. Therefore, the mother stays next to them until the moles reach the age of 1.5 months.

Mole's house

This animal not only crawls underground. He arranges a house for himself, which he covers with dry grass. In addition, the purpose of the moves that the mole makes varies. One by one he makes his way to a watering hole, food and his nest, while others serve as traps for insects and invertebrates. The common mole makes its home at a depth of 1.5-2 meters. Most often, housing will be located between roots or under buildings. There are no restrictions on the depth of passages that form a multi-tier system. If the soil is loose, the mole can go down 100 meters. The “corridors” dug by him are preserved for a long time. If they are not destroyed by other animals or people, several generations of moles can live in them. These animals work with their paws at high speed, so there are a lot of winding passages underground. An obstacle for them is “heavy” soil. The mole has a particularly bad time during drought. It may even die if it fails to crawl through a dried-out area of soil. The common mole makes traps for future food products shallowly. Interestingly, its smell, which repels predators, attracts worms. They crawl into the passages he makes, where they are usually eaten. Other animals, such as mice, also use wormholes. And shrews often penetrate feeding passages specifically to eat worms.

Since the text of the article does not contain a picture of a hole built by a mole, I looked for it on the Internet

Do nature and people need them?

If such an animal exists, it means there is some benefit from it. (I’ll add right away: there is nothing in nature that it doesn’t need!!! Nature is not a fool - Vzor)

Not everyone will be able to determine what it is.
Especially those who have summer cottages or live in their own house. Such people know that a mole is a pest. By making passages, it damages plants that may die. Molehills spoil the appearance of lawns and lawns. Their activity reduces the number of earthworms that are beneficial to the soil. The owners are trying to get rid of such an unpleasant neighborhood. To do this, they use both modern and folk remedies; they try to do everything so that the mole leaves their area. But at the same time, this animal eats pests and loosens the soil. This means there is still some benefit from it. The main thing is that he works away from the household plot.
It’s hard to imagine who would have come up with the idea of sewing a fur coat from moleskin. The creator of the first such product probably came up with this idea because of the softness and silkiness of the animal’s fur. Yes, such fur coats look attractive, unusual and exclusive. But they are expensive. Other products are made from such fur. We can say that this is how a person takes revenge on a mole for ruining his gardens.

Source https://fb.ru/article/246143/kr…

From another article:

“The common mole, like the hedgehog, belongs to the order of insectivores. Already from the name of the group it is clear that it cannot feed on potatoes and other underground parts of plants. (Oops!!! - Gaze)

To compensate for poor eyesight, it has phenomenal hearing and sense of smell. Like all animals, they love silence, so when there is strong sound exposure, they leave the developed territory. People take advantage of this weakness of his. Plastic anti-mole turntables and other homemade repellers made from scrap materials are used.

Plastic pinwheel against moles

The simplest type of repeller. To make it, you will need an ordinary plastic bottle and a metal pipe or thick steel wire, onto which the mole spinner is actually placed. Several cuts are made in the bottle, which are folded back to form peculiar pocket blades. The wind causes the blades to spin, which creates noise that resonates into the pipe and goes into the ground.

Weighing 130 g, the body length reaches 15 cm. It feeds exclusively on insects and for this, at a depth of 10-50 cm, it digs a system of underground passages with its powerful forelimbs. The nest is built at a depth of up to 2 meters. There, in a dug labyrinth, it finds food for itself: earthworms, insect larvae and other arthropods.

Several of these tubes can be stuck near mole holes. In windy weather, a mole repeller made from a plastic bottle creates an unpleasant vibration through its rotation, which forces the animal to go in search of a quieter habitat.

This repellent method works on European, Small and Caucasian moles. Moles in the northern regions of Russia most often do not respond to windmills. It is advisable to place several of these windmills at a distance of 10-15 meters from each other.

The full article is here: https://bezklopa.ru/otpugivatel…

I continue to run the marathon, but this time I’m not just doing copy-paste, but a broader article. So, be patient :o)

What animal ate my potato harvest?

Tricky question
: I decided to dig up some potatoes today, but there are no potatoes, only the tops. Under the bushes, burrows run along the entire furrow. What kind of pest could it be and how can I protect myself from it?

Answer one:

The potatoes were eaten by a terrible lover of tubers - a mole rat. Only he is able to dig along the furrow and eat the tubers, since he has an excellent sense of smell. And what he doesn’t eat, he rolls into his hole, try to find it.

I use a simple method to combat mole rats. Since I have a cat, and he uses wood filler in the pot, I pour sawdust from this pot into the dug passages. The mole rat smells an unfamiliar animal and moves away. (!!!)

Answer two:

If these are underground burrows, then most likely you have been visited by a mole rat, an animal related to rodents and a big fan of potatoes. Some people confuse mole rats with moles, but these are completely different animals, although both lead a predominantly underground lifestyle. However, the mole is an insectivore, but the mole rat is an omnivorous rodent. It manifests itself in the area with cesspool dumps where burrows emerge to the surface, similar to hills of moles. It is simply impossible to suspect its appearance otherwise. The mole rat eats large potatoes, and takes smaller ones to their storage barns for the winter, so that there really may be nothing left after them. Moreover, the animal is quite large - up to 30 centimeters in length and, accordingly, voracious. Catching a mole rat is very difficult, and finding its cache is even more difficult. You can only scare it away with the smells of other animals or install noise repellers.

Answer three:

Rodents called “field dogs” I don’t know how it is scientifically. Potatoes can be found. The passages should go further from the field, where they make a warehouse for the winter. If you find passages leading away from the field, you can also find potatoes. It's quite difficult to get rid of them. They are not afraid of ultrasound. There are several recipes that can be combined. Bury bottles around the perimeter of the field with the neck up so that they hum in the wind and scare away. Plant black beans around the field - for some unknown reason they don’t like them. https://www.bolshoyvopros.ru/qu...

We have met, dear readers, the common mole. But nature itself provides for great diversity. For example, leguminous plants (those with pods) are found among herbaceous, shrubby, and woody plants. Nature didn’t skimp on moles either :o) Look at what a “miracle” it is!

Well, a very unusual mole! :O)

(further I could simply copy the text to the clipboard, but I will show how the text is inserted with pictures)

This is what the most sensitive organ of the starfish looks like (well, they came up with a name for it, for this star wanderer): o)

It's 20:33 on my watch

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The reason for the differences in the organs of vision

Many representatives of shrews, for example, moles and shrews, differ greatly in appearance, size, lifestyle, and habitat. This could not but affect the development or reduction of their vision. Those species that live in the upper layers of the soil, often get out or swim across bodies of water, definitely need a visual organ.

Representatives of underground inhabitants do not have eyes, because in deep burrows there is no need for this rudiment. This explains why moles are blind. Such metamorphoses prove that evolution does not stand still, and many species of animals change their structure over time under the influence of external factors.

Features of the visual organs of moles

Moles' vision is very poor; most species of these animals cannot see distant objects. They practically cannot distinguish anything that is located more than a meter or two away.

The mole's organ of vision is not blind, it is capable of:

Distinguish light from darkness;
Distinguish some colors;
See large contrasting objects;
Fix a moving object.

A mole will not be able to see the outline of a predator ready to attack, or motionless prey (earthworm), but is able to hunt using touch and smell. These sense organs are especially developed in star-nosed moles, which have special mobile outgrowths.

In fact, the mole is quite capable of satisfying all its needs, such as supplying food, finding a partner for mating, raising offspring, making passages, without using vision. Blind and naked cubs are born from late April to mid-June. But already 1-1.5 months after birth they reach the size of an adult animal and leave their native nest.

Moles can no longer be considered blind, at least because their organs of vision continue to transmit information about the location of animals to the brain, even while under the skin. As long as their eyes work as optical instruments, helping to distinguish between light and dark, we can say that the organs perform their function to the extent that they need it.

The mole really needs eyes and this is noticeable in the way he:

Avoids bright lighting, trying to always stay underground, appearing on the surface only in the dark, when dangerous predators are not hunting.
In the snow it can easily capture moving prey.
Reacts to the movements of a predator that has penetrated its underground passages. This often saves the animal’s life. It is thanks to animal species that still have poor vision that evolutionary degradation is slowed down. They pass on their genes to their offspring, supporting the preservation of this organ in subsequent generations, which explains the blurred graph of eye reduction in moles.

These observations show that vision plays a certain role in the life of animals, and is important for those species that have still retained it.

Blind mole as an independent species

The spot that the arrow points to is the animal's eye.
Moreover, this is a full-fledged eye that sees, albeit not as well as a person’s. However, it is true that the vision of moles in general is relatively poor. They can:

Distinguish between primary colors;
Distinguish between light and darkness;
Register the movement of objects with your eyes;
Seeing large objects that stand out (for example, a large pile of dirt against a background of green grass).

Also, most species of moles do not see distant objects. The radius of their vision is about 1-2 meters, and everything that is further is a blurred background.

The opinion that the mole is blind apparently arose from the testimony of people who noticed it in the wild or caught it in their areas.

Secondly, the question is quite logical: why, exactly, does a mole need vision? After all, he spends most of his life underground, and comes to the surface only occasionally, more often at night. The need for such a luxury as eyes, into which dust and earth can get in during underground work, is highly doubtful.

Nevertheless, the eyes of a mole are still useful, but more on that later.

You also need to take into account that in some species of moles the eyelids grow together, and the eyes literally remain under the skin. They have eyeballs, and they even see something, but there are no eyes on the surface of the body - is this not a reason to say that moles are blind?

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The small mole, Talpa caeca, is the name given to the blind mole, the smallest member of the family in Europe. Like an ordinary mole, it has eyes, but they are constantly under the skin and can only distinguish between light and dark (there are also suggestions that it has color vision, although detailed studies have not been carried out to confirm this).

In general, this animal is similar in its anatomy and biology to its other relatives, having only a few pronounced and original differences:

It is really small, rarely grows more than 12 cm in length (in the common mole the body length usually reaches 15-16 cm) and does not weigh more than 30 grams;
This species has through holes in the collarbone, the origin and functions of which are still unclear;
The blind mole mates in winter, still in the frozen soil under the snow, and its cubs are born in March, becoming completely independent individuals by the usual breeding season of other species.

Talpa caeca lives mainly in southern Europe, Italy and Greece, but is not found in Russia. Previously, it was combined with the Caucasian mole into one species, but today it is considered an independent, full-fledged systematic unit, and its habitat in the east is limited to Macedonia.

The blind mole prefers to settle in the foothills, in subalpine grassy meadows, is often found in the same habitats as the Caucasian mole, and can even use its passages to move and collect prey. In northern Greece, the range may overlap with that of the common European mole.

However, as you now understand, even a blind mole has eyes (even if they are located under the skin) and is able to see to some extent. This means that he is not as blind as they call him.

Other senses

The animal compensates for its poor eyesight with a subtle sense of smell, hearing and touch - senses that are superbly developed in it. Moles find prey by smell, unmistakably distinguishing between worms and insects, and when they enter someone else's territory, they instantly determine the gender and species of the owner. Their sense of smell also helps them find a mating partner.

The animal’s impeccable hearing helps it out in dangerous situations; a mole can hear the approach of a person from several tens of meters away. The animal has a unique structure of the inner ear, which is not found in any other mammal. It is true that a mole can sense the vibrations that precede an earthquake.

The animal's nose has hypersensitive growths that allow it to get a complete picture of the object the mole touches. These sensitive areas (Eimer's organs) are especially pronounced in the starfish; they look like long processes with which the animal explores surrounding objects like tentacles. In the darkness of an underground passage, these devices are much more useful than the organs of vision.