What benefits and harm do moles bring to the soil?

General description of the species

Moles are a family from the class Mammals, belonging to the order Insectivores. They live in Europe, Asia and North America.

Appearance

The mole looks like a small animal, body length 5–20 grams, weight varies from 9 to 170 grams. Animals are adapted to underground life. The body is rounded, oblong, covered with velvety smooth fur. It always grows straight, which allows it to lie in any direction while digging.

The fur color is black or dark brown. The animal molts in spring, summer and autumn. The paws are small, the front paws are spade-shaped, the hind paws are underdeveloped.

Other external features include:

• small tail;
• a nose made in the form of a movable proboscis;
• absence of ears;
• small oblong head;
• externally invisible neck.

The eyes are poorly developed and lack a retina and lens. The eye openings are small, covered by movable eyelids. In some species, the eyes completely become overgrown. The animals have highly developed senses of hearing, touch and smell.

Characteristic

Moles by nature are predators that eat small insects and larvae. They prefer areas with soft, loose soil that is easy to dig with their paws. In summer, their tunnels are laid close to the soil surface.

In winter, animals go deep into the ground. They do not hibernate, but only greatly reduce their activity. They feed on stocks of worms that are kept alive but paralyzed. To do this, the animal bites off their head.

Habitat

Moles live everywhere in Eurasia and North America. In Russia they are found in the central zone, in the North Caucasus, the Urals and Western Siberia. In the east of the country they live up to the confluence of the Irtysh and the Ob. The northern border of the animals’ habitat runs along the Siberian taiga, and the southern border extends to the forest-steppe zone. All that is important for these animals is that the soil is suitable for digging. They are almost never found in swampy areas.

In Asia, moles are found in China, Turkey, Indochina, Tibet, Mongolia, and Transcaucasia. They are found in the western United States, southeastern Canada, and Mexico.

Population and status

The density of mole populations depends on both the specific species and the area. Males usually increase their density in the spring. In view of this, there are 5–30 individuals per hectare of soil.

Today they have emerged from the status of endangered animals. This is due to the fact that they are almost no longer hunted. Warm winters also have a good effect on the survival of animals.

Intensity and duration of the mating season in moles

The time of onset, duration and intensity of the mating season of moles depends both on the quality of life (living conditions, availability of food) and on climatic conditions.

The mating season begins immediately after the snow melts. In the northern regions, the start of the rut occurs in the first third of May: 4-8. In the western and southern regions, rodent breeding begins much earlier: already from April 16-17.

Cold, early spring also affects the nature of the mating season: mating occurs later, which delays the appearance of the cubs and their settlement. During this period, the body of females is weakened, and they more often fall into traps. This allows farmers to quickly and effectively get rid of garden pests.

Moles spend most of their lives underground, which causes partial visual atrophy. Contrary to popular myth, moles are not blind: each species has eyes (it’s just that in some species, for example, moguera, they are covered with skin) that distinguish the degree of illumination and detect the movement of objects. Moles crawl to the surface of the earth infrequently: in search of a new home, food, or to mate.

At night, moles crawl out of their underground homes and go in search of a mate. Most often, in search of other moles, they “ask” for same-sex individuals: as a result of a fight, one of the rivals dies, and the other continues to search for a mate.

Having found a female, the mole, most often by force, drags her into its holes. A separate system of ornate passages in his home is designed precisely to hide the female from the encroachments of rivals. Often the female tries to escape by digging new tunnels from his hiding place. Having caught up with her, the winner returns the female to his home.

Main varieties

The classification of moles implies the existence of over 40 species. Among them, the most common are about one and a half dozen subspecies.

East Asian

Animals from the Mole family. They are found in mid-mountain meadows and forests of East and Southeast Asia. Little studied, do not have well described characteristics.

Mogers

Moles with a body length of 9–25 cm and a weight of 290–300 grams. They differ from their relatives of other species in their brownish-brown hair, the specific structure of the auditory apparatus and pelvic bones. There is no fang in the lower jaw. The eyes are covered with leathery membranes and are not visible from the outside.

Ordinary

The animal is known as the European mole. It has a rounded oblong body, an elongated muzzle and a short neck. The limbs are small, adapted for digging. The front legs end in spade-shaped palms that are turned outward. They have powerful claws.

The eyes are partially covered with skin. The hairline is thick and short. This genus is most common in the Mole family.

American shrew

The most popular species of mole in North America. Their habitat is wet areas. They have soft and dense fur. The tail is long, equal to half the body. The length of the animal itself is about 10 cm, weight – 10 grams. The eyes are small, the paws are less adapted to digging than those of other subspecies. The animal can swim and climb bushes.

Hairy-tailed

Another American-Canadian species of moles. The animals weigh 50 g and have a body length of 3.5 cm. The head is strongly elongated. The upper incisors are better developed than the other teeth. The animal sometimes crawls out to the surface of the ground at night.

Whitetail

A representative of Moles, distinguished by its white tail. In general, it looks almost like all other moles. Found throughout Bangladesh, India, China and Myanmar.

Eastern American

A large mole, 16 cm long and weighing 75 g. The front legs are wide and powerful, well suited for digging. There is no hair on the paws. Their width is greater than their length, the hind and front toes are fused.

Western Chinese

The most original type of mole in China. It lives in the provinces of Gansu, Qinghai, Shaanxi and Sichuan.

Starfish

Known under the names star-nosed mole, star-nosed mole, star-nosed mole, star-nosed mole. In appearance it is similar to most other moles, but differs in its elongated tail (6–8 cm) and hard fur that does not get wet. There are two skin growths on the face, similar in appearance to an asterisk, which is where the name of the individuals comes from. Animals in adulthood weigh up to 85 g. The eyes are small, but clearly distinguishable in appearance. Lives in the eastern regions of North America.

Western American

The body length of the animal is 11–14 cm, while the tail can take up to 5.5 cm. Body weight reaches 170 grams. The proboscis of the muzzle is moderately elongated. The eyes are small, hidden under the fur. There is no external auricle. The hand of the foot is very wide. The tail is thick, covered with sparse hairs. Distributed in North America.

Short-faced

A small species of the Mole family. Lives in China.

Long-tailed

Lives in Asia. Body length 7–9 cm, weight up to 12 grams. There are no auricles. The front legs are slightly widened and equipped with almost straight claws.

Chinese shrew

Distributed in the Chinese province of Sichuan. It lives mainly in forests of the temperate zone.

Caucasian

Outwardly, it almost completely resembles a European mole. It stands out only for its rudimentary eyes covered with thin skin. It has large teeth and velvety fur. It can burrow to a depth of 1 m. It eats up to 40 g of food per day.

Blind

The smallest mole in our country with a body length of 8–12 cm, weight – no more than 30 grams. The eyes are covered with thin skin. Tail length is about 3 cm.

Japanese mogera

It lives in the southern territories of Japan, as well as in China, Korea and the south of Primorsky Krai. Prefers to live in cultivated fields and meadows.

Types of moles, photos and names.

Below is a brief description of several types of moles.

• The common mole, also known as the European mole (lat. Talpa europaea ) belongs to the genus of common moles. The body length of the animal reaches 12-16 cm, weight 55-90 g, tail length 2-4 cm. The animal's eyes are small, with narrow slits, without movable eyelids and eyelashes. The fur is black with a lighter shade underneath. The color of moles varies from black-gray and black-brown to completely black. Adults have darker fur than juveniles. The offspring appears once a year. European moles live in the forest-meadow zone of Europe, as well as in the European part of Russia, the Caucasus, the Urals and Western Siberia.

Photo credit: Valery91Thunder, CC-BY-SA

• The blind mole (small mole) (lat. Talpa caeca ) is a representative of the genus of ordinary moles. One of the smallest moles. The length of its body is 8-12 cm, the length of the tail is 2-3 cm. The mole weighs up to 30 g. The animal’s eyes are located under the skin. The basis of its diet is insects and their larvae. It consumes earthworms less frequently than other moles. Reproduction begins in early spring, when there is still snow. Blind moles live in the mountainous regions of the Caucasus, Turkey, and Northern Iran.

Photo credit: Daniele Seglie, CC BY-NC

• The long-tailed mole (lat. Scaptonyx fusicaudus ) represents the monotypic genus Scaptonyx of the same name. A small animal with a body length of 7.2-9 cm and a weight of up to 12 g. The length of the tail reaches 4.5 cm. The fur is sparse and hard. Long-tailed moles live in the coniferous highland forests of Northern Myanmar, Southern China and Northern Vietnam. The passages are dug shallow.

Photo credit: Huet, Public Domain

• Caucasian mole (lat. Talpa caucasica ) belongs to the genus of ordinary moles. The sizes for representatives of the genus are average: body length 10-14 cm, weight - 40-95 g, tail length 2.5 - 3.2 cm. Females are smaller than males. The color of the fur changes from bright black after molting to brown over time. The mole's eyes are subcutaneous. It makes shallow moves: from 5 to 20 cm in depth, but it can go deep up to 1 meter. The diet is based on earthworms, less often insects and larvae. It bears offspring once a year. The Caucasian mole lives in the southern and central parts of the Ciscaucasia, Transcaucasia and the Greater Caucasus, as well as on the Black Sea coast of Turkey.
• Siberian mole (Altai mole) (lat. Talpa altaica ) is a species from the genus of common moles. The distribution range of the animal is Western Siberia, western Eastern Siberia, southern Transbaikalia, northwestern Mongolia. Inhabits forested areas, except swamps, and river valleys in permafrost areas. In appearance, the animal is similar to the European mole, but is larger in size. Males have a body length from 13.5 to 19.5 cm and a weight of 75-225 g. The body length of females varies from 128 to 171 mm, weight ranges from 70-145 g. The tail is short, from 17 to 36 mm in length. The mole's eyes have a movable eyelid. Individuals living in Altai have a darker color: dark brown and black. Among the inhabitants of the northern plains, black takes on a smoky hue. There are also albinos, yellow, red and spotted individuals. The Siberian mole eats earthworms and insect larvae. The animal differs from many other species of moles in that its pregnancy lasts 9 months: mating occurs in the summer, but the embryos freeze and begin to develop only in the spring. Young animals appear from late April to late May.
• The Japanese shrew mole ( urotrichus talpoides) is the only species of the genus of the same name. Named for its resemblance to a mole and a shrew at the same time. The body size of the animal is small: 8-10 cm. The length of the hair-covered tail reaches 3 cm, with a tassel at the tip. The thick and soft fur of these moles is not velvety. It has a dark brown or black color with a metallic sheen. The animal moves both along long passages located shallowly and along the very surface of the earth. The Japanese shrew mole climbs bushes and trees to a height of 2-4 m. In winter, it sometimes roosts in empty bird nests and birdhouses. It breeds once a year. This species of mole inhabits the treeless slopes of mountains and volcanoes from the base to 2000 m above sea level on the southern islands of Japan.

Taken from: nyandfulworld.blog84.fc2.com

• Japanese mogera (middle mogera) (lat. Mogera wogura ) belongs to the genus Mogera. The size of the animal reaches 12-15.6 cm. The tail is short: 2-2.4 cm. Body weight is 95-210 g. On the back and sides, the mogera’s fur is black or dark, brown and gray, the peritoneum is lighter. Sometimes there are buffy spots on the chest, around the front legs and at the bottom of the abdomen. Basically, the Japanese mogera feeds on insect larvae: earthworms occupy the second place in its diet. Japanese mogers live in the southwest of the Japanese archipelago: in the southern part of the island of Honshu, the islands of Shikoku, Kyushu, some islands of the Inland Sea of ​​Japan, the Korea Strait, the East China and the Sea of ​​Japan. On the mainland, these moles inhabit some eastern regions of China, the Korean Peninsula, and in Russia - the south of Primorsky Krai. The grasslands and agricultural lands on which Japanese mogers live can be located at altitudes of up to 1000 m above sea level. These moles build two-level passages: at a depth of 50-70 cm and 1-1.5 m.

Taken from the site: alcedoatthishin1.blog99.fc2.com

• Star-nosed (star-nosed) (lat. Condylura cristata ) is a mole from the genus Condylura. Its body length is 18.9-21.1 cm. The tail is scaly, up to 8 cm in length, covered with sparse hairs. In winter it thickens to the diameter of a pencil. The star-nosed mole is similar to ordinary moles in the structure of its front legs, the absence of ears, small eyes (which, by the way, are not hidden under the skin) and thick, even black or dark brown fur. A distinctive feature that predetermined the name of this species is the presence of a star-shaped stigma, consisting of 22 leathery, fleshy processes. With the help of these tentacles, the mole searches for food. All of them are movable, except for the two in the middle at the top, which are directed forward and do not bend. The star-nosed mole swims and dives well not only in summer, but also in winter under ice. In water it eats small aquatic inhabitants and fish, on land it eats earthworms and mollusks. In addition to the aquatic and underground, the starfish also leads a terrestrial lifestyle, moving on the ground or snow. On the surface, these animals can even build nests, placing them in rotten stumps or deposits of leaves. Sometimes muskrats settle in the walls of huts. The animals prefer moist soils. They settle in meadows and forests, along the banks of streams and near swamps. Star-nosed bats live in the southeastern regions of Canada and in the southeastern states of the United States from southern Labrador to North Carolina.

Photo by: Martin Minarik

What kind of life do they lead?

Moles are almost always underground. All individuals are equally active both at night and during the day. Over the course of a day, animals experience several three- to four-hour stages of increased mobility, and in the intervals between them the animals rest in their nests.

Moles are characterized by a predominantly sedentary lifestyle. Only sometimes, in hot weather and drought, do they move approximately 1–1.5 km from their habitats in search of water.

Moles are loners. They live in their own individual plot, which they bravely defend from enemies to the best of their ability. Each of them has its own tunnel system, but sometimes they overlap. The animals still try not to collide with each other and get food in various secluded corners.

If a mole dies, the neighbors quickly notice it, and the fastest one wins the free area. Sometimes it is shared by several animals.

Having captured a certain territory, moles mark the tunnels laid there with a powerfully smelling secretion secreted by the preputial glands. Both males and females have this smell. If this “aroma” is not present, other individuals will conquer the area.

What do they eat?

The menu mostly consists of invertebrates. They obtain about 90% of their food in feeding passages (tunnels). Moles are omnivores and can eat any food available to them on the site, but most of all they prefer beetle larvae, earthworms and slugs.

In the first half of autumn, the mole stores food supplies near its home. They usually consist of worms, which the animal immobilizes with a bite. The volume of such “preservation” in some cases reaches 2 kg.

Reproduction

Sometimes moles break their solitary lifestyle to mate. Immediately after its completion, the male leaves the female. He does not help build nests for his young and does not participate in their upbringing. During the breeding season, females show increased aggressiveness towards individuals of their own sex.

Usually there is no more than one brood per year. The gestation period varies depending on the species from 30 (common moles) to 42 days (Eastern moles).

A new generation is born in nests. A brood consists of two to seven individuals. Initially they are naked and hairless, but after two weeks they become overgrown with fur. At three weeks of age, their eyes open. In the first month, babies' nutrition consists only of mother's milk. On the 35th day, moles leave their native nest and begin to look for a free area for themselves. During this period, many of them die under the wheels of cars or from predators.

“Little Mole...” through the eyes of a publisher: “Why did we decide to publish this book?”

In a children's book, the artist plays a vital role. Wolf Erlbruch, who drew “The Little Mole...”, is a very famous book illustrator. Before I saw the book about the mole, I thought that Erlbruch drew for adults. But “The Little Mole...”, from the point of view of drawing, is a wonderful children's book. She is already 20 years old. It is always among the bestsellers in bookstores in Germany, England, and Spain. It is published in two formats - small, like ours, and larger. However, most Moscow stores refused to sell Little Mole. They said they were afraid of how customers would react. The theme of the book seemed “strange” there. That is, they simply considered it indecent. But when we made the decision to purchase copyrights, the topic did not bother us at all - because here it is presented very talentedly. In addition, it seems to me that “Little Mole...” is a book with good educational potential. I remember how my grandmother taught me as a child: “Look, a cow passed here. And this goat left her mark. And here was a wild boar...” It was all so interesting to me! What's the end of this book? Firstly, again, there is a very precise natural scientific observation: flies are the best at figuring out “who did this.”

Secondly, as a result of the “investigation” carried out by the little mole, justice is restored: the offender is punished. But, mind you, being punished is not scary at all. Most likely, he will not even notice this punishment. It's not painful. By and large, it is not offensive. But the mole had to do this in order to maintain his own dignity. Isn't that important? On the Labyrinth website, among the reviews of this book there were no swear words! But, remember, as Munchausen said in Zakharov’s film: “All the stupid things in the world are done with a serious face. Laugh, gentlemen, laugh!”

Maria Melik-Pashaeva

"Little mole..." from a naturalist's point of view

This simple story is a good reason to talk with your child about what he is learning about himself and the world around him one way or another. Talk in very simple language, looking at the funny details of the illustrations and noting our natural caution towards any excrement. Talk about tiny special microbes that help us grow and gain strength from food. That they are not visible because they are very small. But if there were no microbes left inside us, our weight would immediately decrease by several kilograms. When germs live in their usual place, this is good, but when they get into the mouth or eye, they can get sick. Therefore, you need to wash your hands after walking, using the toilet and before eating. That is why we carefully wash vegetables, fruits, and herbs that we have picked or bought in the store. It is known that doctors, experienced parents and pet owners can identify illnesses by the sight and smell of excrement. I remember one mother’s story about the horror she experienced when she first fed her child beets. I think that these features of changes in urine and feces also need to be told to children in an easy and simple way. By the way, this is also a good reason to tell your child that the word “poop” is a household word, doctors call them feces, biologists call them droppings, and in general all these body secretions are called the scientific word “excrement.” Naturalists, trackers and biologists know what prints of paws, legs, wings, teeth and beaks and food remains - the so-called gnaws and pellets - look like. Animal droppings are part of this long list of traces by which you can find out what happened: who dined here; who sat on this hummock at dawn, and who ran across the path in your garden. And who clearly marked their territory here? Usually we don’t see all these animals, they live their own lives, and we must respect their right to this life of theirs. Therefore, it is better not to pick a hedgehog out of its hiding place in order to place it in an apartment, but to learn to recognize the presence of animals by their various tracks. It's so mysterious and interesting! Of course, the question may arise, do we, city dwellers, need all these details of the diversity of animal droppings? If we are not going to study animals, move to the taiga, or hunt, then probably not. And for children who are learning to use a potty instead of a diaper and walk through our yards and parks instead of a stroller - perhaps yes. This is the level of surprise that everyone around us is different and so different. And they all eat and poop. I think that interest in knowledge begins precisely in such a unafraid childhood, when everything around you causes surprise and questions that are not answered with an immediate ban: “Ugh, what disgusting! In polite society they don’t talk about such things!”

I was a little confused by the ending of the book: why did the mole not even talk to the dog, but immediately believed the flies? Why did you smack your little mark on his forehead and calm down? Yes, but why did I decide that the offended mole is a model and a hero? After all, what do offended people not do? And moles, apparently, too. So with this ending, we just had a reason to discuss possible options and reflect. I also liked how the mole wears an as-yet unidentified poop on his head. In the cartoon, when he greets a cow, he also lifts it up like a hat. But most of all I liked the author’s proposal to respect children’s interests.

Nadezhda Pantyulina, employee of the State Biological Museum named after K.A. Timiryazeva

Do you want to watch a cartoon? Perhaps he will reconcile you with the book: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XwMESXpA3o&feature=related https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1EMZGFHu_Y

The book by A.N. will help you learn to read animal tracks. Formozov "The Pathfinder's Companion"

"Little Mole..." through the eyes of foreign readers

The book about the little mole was first published in 1989. It has been translated into almost 30 languages. It is discussed both on Internet forums and on bookselling sites. But foreign readers react to it not at all as sharply as users of the “Russian” Internet. Of course, there are those in Western networks who (for more than 20 years now) are outraged by the very topic of the book. There are also users who believe that books for children that talk about the natural functions of the body have a right to exist, but should serve a purely practical purpose - to potty train a child. The main complaint about the book is related to the ending of the story: they say, it teaches the child to take revenge, to follow the principle of “an eye for an eye.” But there are relatively few such reviews. For example, on one German website the book received a rating of “five” 98 times and a rating of “one” only 7 times. Website visitors consider the main advantage of the book to be that the book is very funny. And it’s funny for both adults and children. They also note that a children's book does not necessarily have to contain deep morality. Adults often read just for fun, and children have that right too. And many parents find a way to make this book useful: with its help, they teach children to identify animals by the “traces” they leave, talk about why these “traces” are so different, about where which animals live and what they eat. Parents write that the mole's revenge on the dog in this book is, first of all, funny. The little mole takes revenge on the huge sleeping dog, who, upon waking up, is unlikely to notice anything, and therefore will not know that he has offended the mole. Someone, however, after reading the fairy tale explains to the child that it is better not to take revenge, but to talk to your offender. Some parents note that this fairy tale is replete with euphemisms and onomatopoeia, so reading has a positive effect on the development of children's speech. And adults get an additional reason to talk with the baby about language.

Parents of children who had problems with reading write: the book is not serious, but interesting for any child. “The Little Mole...” helped our child start reading on his own. Examples are given of the positive impact of the book on children who, for some reason, were afraid to go to the toilet or suffered from neurotic constipation. As a rule, such children also have problems talking about a topic that is painful for them. And if you read this book to your child several times, the topic is “legalized” and ceases to be painful and frightening. It’s as if the child gets the right to call things by their proper names. This helps to combat the problem itself. And one review even says that this book was read aloud to students in class by a college professor, illustrating the positivist approach to scientific inquiry adopted in the 19th century!

Prepared by Elizaveta Prudovskaya Based on materials from the sites amazon.com, amazon.co.uk, amazon.de

Natural enemies

Moles have relatively few enemies as such. The powerful smell protects them from foxes. They are only suitable for food for badgers. Sometimes dogs and cats hunt animals, but not to kill them, but out of “sporting interest.”

Pets can control the number of moles in their garden. In those households where dogs and cats live, there are almost no moles.

How a mole sees

Perhaps the most interesting question concerns the mole's vision, or more precisely, whether the mole has eyes at all. In the cartoon about Thumbelina, we are used to seeing a blind mole with glasses. Although many people think that the mole is completely blind, this is not true. The mole has eyes, but they are very small and completely useless underground, which is why the mole has poor eyesight. Apparently, adaptation to the mole's habitat led to the disappearance of the eyes, but the development of the sense of smell and touch, which allows one to find food in pitch darkness by smell and touch.

More about mole labyrinths

When exploring a new plot, moles have to get out into the fresh air. Even for one animal, a large area is occupied by moves. They come in two types. The first ones are called residential. They lie at a depth of 6 to 90 cm and have a radius of 2.5 cm. The animal moves through these holes to the feeding site or watering hole. Other moves are needed specifically for obtaining food. Animals usually lay them in the upper soil layers, where the soil is not too dense. In addition, this is where worms and larvae live - the main food of moles.

Sometimes traces of these passages are visible even on the surface of the earth. They appear as soil ridges of great length, formed by swollen arches of passages. This happens if an animal makes a tunnel for itself next to the ground surface, and its arches cannot withstand the pressure of the animal.

When making new passages, the mole focuses on its hind limbs and digs the ground with its front limbs. They alternately penetrate the ground and move laterally and backwards. After this, the animal tamps the soil with its strong head, pressing it against the running walls.

If a hole is dug at a depth of 10 cm or more, then the animal does not lift the arch with its head. He has to throw the excavated soil outside. As a result, molehills appear - earthen heaps. They are usually small, no more than 15–25 cm in height. Their diameter is also small, but in some cases it reaches a size of a meter.

Lifestyle of moles.

The life of a mole passes in dark labyrinths that lie underground at different depths. Mammals dig the ground with large, everted front paws, rotating around the axis of the body. If the soil is soft, loose, and damp, then the mole digs holes 2-5 cm from the surface of the ground. The soil above the passages rises in the form of a roller. The mole does not throw away the earth. If the ground is dry, tunnels are dug at a depth of 10-50 cm and deeper (up to a meter), while excess soil is thrown into holes. In this case, a characteristic type of heap or molehill is formed on the surface. From such piles formed as the mole digs a tunnel, its direction can be determined. Under forest paths, moles dig deeper tunnels that connect the most complex surface labyrinths of passages.

Photo by: Mark Zekhuis

Photo credit: Petwoe, Public Domain

Female moles make nests at a depth of 1.5-2 meters: under stumps, stones or tree roots, less often in open areas, creating a tunnel system consisting of ring and radial passages. The molehill above the nesting chamber is especially high - up to 70-80 cm in height. A mole's nest is a small depression that can be lined with grass. The mole wanders around the area of ​​residence, this is due to the search for the optimal place of existence. In the spring, during floods and snowmelt, the animals move to higher ground; in the summer, as the soil dries out, they descend to the lowlands. The maximum habitat area of ​​an adult does not exceed 50 hectares. For the brood, the area is 1250 hectares. Moles remain within their territory all their lives. In the spring, males significantly expand their territory, moving in search of a reproductive female. In hot and dry weather, moles can move considerable distances away from their territories, going to rivers to drink.

Moles are very quarrelsome and grumpy. They live alone, uniting in pairs only to produce offspring. The exception is the star-nosed bat (lat. Condylura cristata), which can live with the female all winter. Young moles caress each other, squeak like chickens, and as they grow older, they become pugnacious, especially the males. Adults do not get along together. Moles are even capable of biting and eating a relative, leaving only its skin. By the way, in captivity they very willingly eat the meat of their own kind. Due to their quarrelsome nature, young moles are more active, developing the territory for their residence. If one of the moles dies or gets caught in a trap, its neighbors quickly notice this and take over the tunnel system mastered by the animal. Moles mark their territories by secreting a special secretion that accumulates on the belly fur. If an animal does not mark its territory regularly, then other individuals understand that this area is empty.

Benefits and harms of animals

On the farm, the common mole brings the greatest benefit among all varieties. For a very long time this has been one of the main objects of the fur trade. The fur of the animal is not only beautiful, but also durable and retains heat well. This material gained great popularity at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. Fishing at that time was carried out so intensively that there was a threat of complete extermination of the species. The absolute record was set in 1928, when more than 20,000,000 skins were obtained worldwide.

In the USSR, mole hunting was carried out until the 1980s. In today's Russia, this fishery has almost completely withered away, and this is one of the factors in the general increase in the population of individuals. This was also influenced by warm winters and optimization of breeding and feeding conditions for moles. This is manifested in the growing popularity of greenhouses for cultivating plants, the spread of flower beds and lawns.

The menu consists of agricultural pests. The most dangerous of them are:

• click beetles;
• May beetle larvae;
• mole crickets, etc.

As the soil is loosened, its aeration increases sharply. This helps save the area from waterlogging.

One of the disadvantages of mole activity is the decrease in yield in agricultural areas dotted with molehills. They disrupt agrocenoses and damage equipment during mechanized harvesting. By digging their tunnels, animals can push the sown seeds out, where they die. They can also dig up the roots, after which this part of the plant can dry out, get wet or freeze. Mole labyrinths spoil drainage systems.

Damage caused by moles is often confused with damage caused by field mice. If there are gnaws on the plants, then we are talking about rodent pests. Their burrows always have an open exit to the soil surface, whereas molehills do not have one. They are also often confused with soil emissions produced by the water vole. In autumn, this animal switches to living underground. Its presence is judged by the following signs:

• gnawed roots;
• flat earth emissions;
• pieces of plants stored in burrows as reserves.

Difference between mole rat and shrew

Unlike the mole rat (aka horsefly or blind man), the mole is a predatory animal.

10 best remedies for moles and shrews in a summer cottage

The mole rat is a rodent that consumes only real plant food. Its menu includes:

• wheatgrass;
• oak and maple seedlings;
• juzgun;
• sagebrush;
• acorns;
• we're rocking.

They also have external differences. The mole rat is much larger and larger than the mole. Four powerful incisors stick out from above and below, protruding from the oral cavity. They are the main means of digging soil. The paws are poorly developed, like all rodents. At the same time, the mole’s front legs are powerful and strong, because it is with them that he makes passages for himself.

The mole rat, unlike moles, digs two-tiered holes for itself. The first floor is the nest itself, where the animal lives, stores food, etc. The upper tier is located at a depth of 25 cm, where the roots of the plants are located.

The shrew is distinguished from the mole by the gray color of its coat. Also, unlike him, she is a rodent. Another remarkable feature of the shrew is its increased metabolism, which forces it to be almost constantly in search of food. In a day, she eats more worms, larvae and insects than she weighs. The mole, by comparison, needs less food, although it is also gluttonous.

Lifespan

In the wild, a mole lives from 2 to 5 years. The maturation period is only 2 months. Animals have extremely few enemies underground, so almost all the cubs survive. Unlike mice, female moles give birth to only one litter per season; pregnancy lasts 10 days longer. This feature allows females to maintain their own health; the birth of babies does not deprive her of vitality. The life expectancy of females does not differ from that of males. Natural enemies of young and adult moles are cats, dogs, foxes, wolves, and hedgehogs.

The mole is a small underground animal that few people have seen. Ideas about him are mainly based on the cartoon “Thumbelina”.

Interesting Facts

Despite their “banality” and familiarity, moles are a unique family that is interesting to both scientists and ordinary people.

People may not know everything about moles, but they have collected a number of facts about them:

1. In construction, the mole uses not only its paws, but also its nose.
2. In one minute the animal digs up to 30 cm of soil.
3. Sometimes moles eat their dead or weakened relatives.
4. The speed of movement of the animal through the tunnel is 25 m/s.
5. There is a bone in the reproductive organ of male moles.
6. Moles are not actually blind; their eyes are simply covered with skin to prevent dirt from falling into them.
7. Moles, along with snakes, are never found in Ireland.
8. Even if the animal is moved to another place, it somehow still finds its way home.
9. The average length of a mole hole is 200 meters.
10. Ordinary moles are not found in Australia, and their ecological niche is occupied by marsupial moles - animals with orange fur.
11. If you start feeding the animal artificially, it will stop moving and will soon die from obesity.
12. Golden moles (golden moles) living in South Africa are not moles.

The mole is a very peculiar animal that brings both harm and benefit to agriculture. Its lifestyle is typical for an underground animal, although it has its own characteristics. There are more than 40 species in the Mole family, many of which are found in Russia.