The biggest mole. Mole animal

The mole has an elongated cylindrical-roll-shaped body with short legs. The front short legs of the mole are distinguished by their size and strength. Their hands have a characteristic widened, spatulate shape, reminiscent of a human hand, and are turned with the palm sideways and outward. The toes end in long and flat claws. The fingers are interconnected by a membrane, and the hand is turned into a real "shovel", very suitable for digging soil. The hind feet are much smaller and weaker than the front ones. Their fingers are not connected by a membrane, but are equipped with small round claws. The head of the mole is conical, with a stigma extended into the proboscis, with a characteristic “patch” at the end. The eyes are tiny, barely visible among the fur. The ears are devoid of the external auricle, but they have a skin fold that serves to close the ear canal, and outwardly they are completely invisible among the fur. Nevertheless, from the senses of the mole, the sense of smell and hearing are best developed, the worst of all is vision. The tail of the mole is short, approximately equal in length to the length of the head; covered with rather long hair.

The body length of a mole is 120 - 165 mm; males are usually larger than females. Black or black-brown fur is very similar to good velvet and has a beautiful silvery sheen. Its characteristic feature is the vertical setting of individual hair, due to which the term "stroking on the coat and against the coat" is inapplicable to him. The underside of the mole's body is covered with lighter fur with a predominance of steel-gray tones. The fur of young moles is lighter, and the skin on the bare parts of the paws is darker than that of old ones.

Among the moles, there are very strong color variations, ranging from dark brown tones to yellowish-gray and even almost white, in exceptional cases piebald moles are found.

The mole is widespread in the forest and forest-steppe regions of Europe and the taiga belt of Siberia, to the east - to the basin of the river. Vilyuya. To the north it reaches the tundra, to the south - to the border of the continuous steppe. It is also common in the Caucasus, but it is absent in the Crimea and in the south of the left-bank Ukraine. In the Nizhny Novgorod region, the mole, although distributed throughout its entire territory, is far from uniform. The mole is more numerous in the upland southern half of the region. Much less common is the mole in pine plantations, on sands, and is often completely absent in wet sublots and forest types with a cover of sphagnum moss and cuckoo flax. " In other words, there is relatively little mole in the wooded Trans-Volga region. Its main habitat is forest glades, glades along forest roads, groves, parks, gardens, household plots and meadows. Settling in vegetable gardens, household plots, along forest roads and, especially, in meadows, the mole does some harm to humans, undermining the roots of plants, pouring its "molehills", which often spoil the ridges in gardens, worsen forest roads and significantly interfere with mowing meadows.

The mole is a typical underground inhabitant. He spends his entire life underground, coming to the surface only in exceptional cases. The mole lives in a very complex, branched hole. His burrow usually consists of one or several main passages and a number of smaller branches - hunting passages and various branches; The mole digs its moves, starting from the very surface of the soil and deepening by 20-50 cm, and sometimes deeper. Somewhere in one of the main passages, the mole locates its "main apartment", or den; it is located at a depth of 15-40 cm from the surface and usually has the form of a funnel-shaped or spherical cavity up to 18 cm in diameter, lined with a litter of dry leaves, grass, moss and other soft material. Sometimes (but not always) nests are surrounded by characteristic two annular galleries, one of which is located at the level of the nest, and the other, smaller in diameter, slightly above the nest chamber. Both galleries are connected by several passages between themselves and with the main passages. The stern passages and temporary grooves differ from the main passages in the lesser trampledness and compaction of the walls. When digging its passages, the mole throws the earth to the surface through the ridges, around which, thus, whole heaps of loose earth accumulate, called "molehills"; they usually reveal the habitat of a mole in a given place.

The basis of food for moles is earthworms; he prefers them to any other food. In addition to worms, the mole destroys quite a few different insects and their larvae, among which there are many pests. Other terrestrial arthropods and mollusks occupy a much smaller place in the diet of the mole. Vertebrates are only a random component in the food of a mole: occasionally, with the characteristic insectivorous predation, it eats its own fellow mole, shrews and frogs. The mole avoids plant food. The composition of a mole's food varies greatly in different habitats, as well as in seasons. So, in the forests of the Krasnobakovsky region, growing on sandy soils, moles feed mainly on insects (mainly the larvae of the May beetle) - up to 97% and only 3% falls on earthworms. In meadows, on the contrary, the basis of food for moles is earthworms - 77%, and the rest of the food (23%) consists of other arthropods.

Among the voracious insectivores, the mole is a special glutton: it dies after a few hours of fasting. Every day, the mole eats such an amount of food that exceeds its own weight.

Mating of a mole takes place from March to the end of April. The gestation period is about 40 days. Young will usually be born in the second half of April - May. There are indications in the literature that the mole has a second litter, but this requires further clarification. The young will be born naked and blind. Their number in a litter ranges from 3 to 9, on average about 5. The young only mature in about twenty days, grow quickly and begin to lead an independent lifestyle after 4-5 weeks. Only the female takes care of the offspring, the male does not take part.

The mole sheds three times a year. Spring molt begins in April-May. During the spring molt, there is a complete change of winter fur to summer fur, which differs from winter in its shorter length and density. In July - August, the second, summer, molt of moles occurs, when the summer fur changes to a shorter one, completely in adult females and partially in adult males and young of both sexes. Autumn molt begins in mid-September, when winter fur grows back, longer, thicker and darker.

In winter, the mole does not hibernate and leads the same active lifestyle as in summer.

The question of the benefits or harms of a mole is still controversial, but nevertheless, most researchers tend to consider it a useful animal, since some harm caused by a mole by destroying earthworms useful for soil formation is redeemed by eating harmful insects and their larvae. The burrowing activity of a mole, on the one hand, leads to loosening of the soil, thereby enhancing its aeration (ventilation) and the possibility of better moisture, and on the other hand, it brings some harm in vegetable gardens, orchards and hay meadows.

Due to its almost exclusively underground lifestyle, the mole suffers very little from predators. Only occasionally does it become the prey of an ermine, weasel or bird of prey.

Mole activity.
Moles are active around the clock and all year round, winter passages either lie very deep - below the level of soil freezing, or just under the snow. In the spring, these snowy passages thaw out from under the snow. In severe winters with little snow, when the ground freezes much deeper than half a meter, many moles die. In the warm season, moles are most active. At the beginning of summer, they are busy laying forage passages to feed the growing brood, at the end - preparing the nest for winter. Unlike rodents, they cannot gnaw the ground with incisors, therefore they live only in places with soft, loose soil.
What moles eat.
In one night, the mole makes up to 50 meters of passage, and the total area of \u200b\u200bthe passage system can reach 800 square meters, the main part of it is the near-surface feed passages. The skin of a mole gives off a pheromone and the smell of which attracts earthworms, which collect themselves in the passages, so that the mole can only "harvest". With an excess of food, the mole immobilizes the worms with a bite in the head and puts them in reserve. For the winter it makes food supplies, usually consisting of paralyzed earthworms, which the mole bites through its heads. In wormholes, up to several hundred immobilized worms were found. The composition of the winter food of a mole does not differ from the summer one, but in winter its need for food decreases. Moles do not hibernate.
How moles breed.
Moles, like many other rodents, divide territories and actively defend them. They live in small "families", driving out strangers. Females bring 2-5 blind, naked cubs in late spring. The fur of moles is quickly erased on the ground, so they have up to 4 molts a year, turning one into another. Towards autumn, the “parents” expel the grown brood from their territory into “adulthood”, where they already seize their own plot of land.
How to find traces of a mole.
Moles lead an underground lifestyle, but its passages can be seen from the outside, because when digging, the mole raises the ceiling of the passage in the form of an earthen roller. In this case, there are no emissions of earth. In open areas, where the soil often and deeply dries out, the passages pass at a depth of 10-50 cm. The mole cannot lift a layer of this thickness, therefore, the excess earth is thrown onto the surface through temporary vertical ones from the mink, forming characteristic mole-heaps. The mole above the system of nesting passages is especially large, up to 70-80 cm. The track of a mole emerging to the surface is a deep furrow in the snow or sand with hind paws imprints on the bottom of the furrow and front paws on the sides.
Damage caused by moles on the site.
Moles can be blamed for damaging lawns. Piles of soil thrown onto the surface of the lawn contribute to the formation of bumps, which makes it difficult to use the mowers. We have to fix the meadows with hummocks. Loose fertile soil in gardens and orchards is always teeming with earthworms, and moles love to hunt here. In search of food, they can damage the roots of fruit, berry and vegetable plants. Mouse-like rodents and water voles often penetrate here along the mole passages, eating roots, root crops, and potatoes. It is advisable not to allow moles into the gardens and vegetable gardens, therefore, the fight against moles and the destruction of moles is a necessary measure.

The common mole is one of the most interesting animals that can settle on a farmer's territory. Despite the fact that these animals pose problems for gardeners, breaking through complex systems of tunnels underground, they also bring some benefits. Therefore, we will tell our readers in more detail about the features of the life of moles, their habitats, what they eat, and also about their benefits and harms to humans.

First of all, you need to know what an ordinary mole looks like so that it can be recognized among other burrowing animals.

The common or European mole is a small fluffy animal with an elongated, elongated, slightly rounded body and small eyes. Its entire body is covered with thick, velvety and even fur. His coat has one unusual feature - the pile always grows straight and has no definite direction, as is the case with almost all mammals. This feature allows the mole to easily move underground in different directions without creating discomfort for itself. Moving in different directions, its fur freely changes the direction of the pile, lying forward or backward.

Mostly moles have a single color of the coat. It can be dark brown, dark gray and black.

Usually, this animal moults three times a year. It changes its hairline once a season, except in winter when it needs to keep warm. This frequency of molting is explained by the fact that the animal loses a lot of wool, constantly moving through narrow underground passages. Due to the stable friction that occurs when it comes into contact with the ground, its coat thinns or falls out.

Since this animal spends most of its life underground, where sunlight does not enter, it practically does not see anything with these eyes (there is no retina and lens in their structure). On the other hand, the mole has a very developed sense of touch and smell. Using these senses, it is well oriented underground and is also able to avoid the threat posed by larger predators.

The common mole has a small mass. On average, its weight is about 100-120 grams. The body length usually reaches 16-18 centimeters, and the tail length is 2-4 centimeters. As expected, males are slightly larger than females.

Since the mole adapted to life underground for a long time, it developed a body shape characteristic of burrowing animals. Thanks to her and her paws, he is able to move quickly enough under the soil and at the same time also hunt insects. The mole has short, but powerful front legs. They are spatulate, wide and large. They are located "palms" forward to make it easier to rake the soil in front of you. They also have large claws to improve traction when digging and tunneling. His hind limbs are of a different shape, and are inferior in strength to the front.

On a small muzzle, the mole has an elongated nose, which looks like a proboscis. He has no ears at all. Outwardly, he may not notice the clear outlines of the neck.

The structure of the skull is tapered with thin cheekbones. Over the course of his life, he can grow up to 44 teeth, depending on the species or genus of mole.

Video "Appearance of a mole"

From the video you will learn what this animal looks like.

Habitat

The European mole is most often found in Europe and western Asia. Other species of this animal have reached large populations in America, Canada, and the northern part of Mexico.

The common mole managed to populate the right-bank part of Ukraine well. It is often found in Polesie, Carpathians, forest-steppe, as well as in river valleys.

When it comes to choosing a place to live, moles are not too whimsical. Of course, they try to choose an area that has fertile soil and is also sufficiently moist (but not swampy lands). In such conditions, there is always a sufficient amount of vegetation, and, accordingly, the insects that they feed on. The soil in open meadows and fields, in deciduous forests is excellent for housing.

Since a person himself creates very comfortable conditions for the life of moles, they often move to fields where farmers grow crops. Here, the soil is always loose, since it is important for plants, it is sufficiently moist, and there are much fewer large predators near humans that hunt moles (wild cats, foxes).

These animals spend most of their lives under the soil, creating for themselves networks of complex narrow passages. They are usually found at a depth of 5-7 centimeters, and can reach up to half a meter from the surface.

The common mole is also a wonderful swimmer, his moves sometimes end at the river, so it will not be difficult for him to get to the other side. But on the surface of the earth it is very difficult to see him, because his legs are not intended for walking, and moving by crawling, he becomes an easy prey for foxes, martens or owls.

Food

Since the mole spends its usual day digging underground tunnels, it spends a lot of energy and calories that need to be replenished. During normal life, with a large waste of energy, the animal must eat more during the day than it weighs itself. The optimal amount of food consumed is twice the mass of a mole.

Prolonged starvation is guaranteed to lead to the death of the animal. For this reason, the mole cannot spend more than 17-19 hours without food.

Since this animal is a small predator, it feeds on invertebrates. Usually, earthworms, insect larvae and pupae, insects and beetles themselves, small spiders, centipedes, snails and similar fauna are eaten. If a mole meets mice or small lizards in the ground, he will eat them too. These animals are active throughout the year, so they have to constantly look for food. And the search for food in such quantities always requires the opening of a new territory.

Reproduction

The description of the breeding method is quite simple. The reproduction process takes place in the same way as in most mammals.

However, first of all, moles create a nesting chamber, which is lined with dry grass or moss. Dry leaves can also be used to insulate the nest. Usually they are placed at a depth of more than one and a half meters underground. Most often they are located under the rhizome of a strictly tree or dense shrub. Thus, the nests are protected. Sometimes they can break out under dry stumps or even private houses (or other human structures).

The female is pregnant for 40 days, giving birth at a time from three to ten cubs. From the first days of their life they still do not have thick fur, and they are helpless. However, babies are able to grow very quickly, and soon they themselves will begin to seek food. In a few weeks, they can be as long as 10-12 centimeters (a little more than half of the mother's body). Then they themselves leave the nesting chamber, and begin their independent life. Already at the age of two months, young moles begin to dig shallow tunnels.

Benefit and harm

If moles appear on the territory, then some signs will testify to this. Small hills will appear on the surface of the earth for some time. These are the places where the animal dug a tunnel to the surface. But they do not have an open hole, since they bury the outlet with a small layer of soil so that there is no draft of cool air in the holes.

Animal mole - a subclass of the beast, belongs to the mammalian class. It is also included in the order of insectivores and shrews. Scientists consider the European mole one of the funniest and most interesting animals. In educational literature, it is also found under the name ordinary.

Description

So, since most of life, almost 99%, the European mole is underground, it has large and strong front legs that vaguely resemble shovels. The body length of an adult animal is approximately 13-17 centimeters, the tail can reach 5 centimeters and the weight varies from 65 to 123 grams. All moles have small eyes with a narrow gap of no more than 0.5 mm. Another feature of the animal is that it lacks an outer ear.

The European mole has large, dense claws. The fur coat of such an animal feels like a velvet cape, just as short and soft. The abdominal cavity is always an order of magnitude lighter than the back - this is due to the fact that the animal is almost constantly moving underground. Dumping of wool (molting) occurs no more than 4 times a year.

At a young age, the color of the animal is much lighter than that of an adult animal. There are several types of colors in nature:

• White with scorched flowers.
• A variety of brown and gray.

The European mole is able to move backward through its burrows - this is due to the fact that the mole has tactile hairs on its tail. Since the movement of this animal is quite active, the fur coat is very often wiped off. The nose is rather peculiar, the nostrils are on the sides.

What does it eat?

The menu of the European mole is varied. It includes:

• family of invertebrates (most often earthworms);
• slugs;
• wood lice;
• different types of insects (caterpillars, beetles, bears);
• spiders;
• centipedes;
• mice;
• frogs.

The most important thing is that the "food" is not fast moving. The norm of food allowance at a time can reach no more than 25 g of worms, in 24 hours - no more than 60-70 g of various foods. Unlike other mammals, the common mole can live without food for a maximum of 18 hours, after which it dies. For the winter period, the mole is stored all summer, most often these are paralyzed earthworms. Although hibernation is not characteristic of this animal, it takes much less food during this period than in summer.

What are the differences between a male and a female?

In nature, the female and the male, except for the usual gender, have no differences. Both in appearance and behavior in the environment are no different.

How does it behave in the environment?

Most of the animal's life process is digging the ground. Thus, he moves in the direction he needs. The process itself looks as if a mole is drilling a tunnel and spreads the ground with its front paws.

Lives exclusively in soft soil, since the teeth of the animal are not strong enough to gnaw hard rocks with them. The dug tunnels of the animal are also often used by other, smaller animals, which are often food for the mole.

In addition to land habitation, the mole is able to swim, however, it must be a small river or lake. It appears on the surface of the earth extremely rarely, as it is too clumsy, and moves almost crawling, leaving behind a corresponding furrow with paw prints.

Throughout his life he breaks through a mass of labyrinths with a diameter of up to 6 cm. In appearance, such labyrinths resemble multi-tiered children's playgrounds. The depth of the structures is up to about 60 cm.The animal divides its labyrinths into two types:

Residential - which the animal uses as a kind of transition from the watering hole to the feed passages.
Forage traps are so-called traps, where small mammals - animals that serve as food for the mole - come across. On average, these traps reach up to 5 cm in depth. It is very easy to notice them from the outside, the "hat" of such a trick is slightly raised;

The place serving as a nest is the most protected and is located underground at a depth of two meters. The animal tries to hide it under stones, stumps, roots in very inaccessible places for anyone. Between the aft and residential passages are connected only by inclined special passages.

It is interesting! In one night, the animal is able to dig a tunnel up to 40 meters.

The habitat is visually very easy to detect; the mole throws excess land to the surface. The animal is active all 12 months, does not hibernate, like many other inhabitants of the forest. Tunnels are digging below the frozen soil. In the event of severe frosts, the ground may freeze by a meter or more. Under such conditions, most often the mole dies from lack of food. During hot summers, drought, almost the same process occurs.

Already an adult animal is very attached to its hole and even if it is carried far away, it will still return "home". A young animal can leave its native nest for its settlement by about 2-3 kilometers. The European mole does not like its neighbors, shows aggression. Sometimes it can even kill. Such an animal lives for about 5-6 years.

How does it multiply?

Reproduction in the European mole, like in many animals, begins in the spring, from about mid-March to early May. The duration of pregnancy in a female is up to 42 days. The common mole is born bald and blind, weighing no more than three grams. In one litter, a female can produce from two to ten small moles. For 12 months, the female brings one litter, in very rare cases, two. After one month, the animal reaches the size of an almost adult animal.

In the process of growing up, the animal becomes quarrelsome and aggressive towards its fellows. At about one and a half - two months, the animal leaves its parental nests, and independently digs its own, in which there will be no "neighbors and roommates."

Natural opponents

European moles both feed on animals less than themselves, and are food for large predators. But because of the specific smell they remain alive, many predators refuse to hunt for an ordinary mole. The most common opponents in natural selection are:

• foxes;
• martens;
• affection;
• owl;
• buzzard.

Pros and cons

Cons of the appearance of a mole:

1. Moles bring huge damage to gardeners to gardeners. Since the vegetable gardens have very soft soil and a large number of insects and other animals that are food for the mole, they settle in such places. By their explosions, the root system of plants is destroyed, after which it begins to dry and dies in a short period of time.
2. If the mole constantly lives on the site, sooner or later the land loses all its fertile properties, and every year the harvest becomes less and less scarce.
3. The European mole feeds on the earthworm, which in turn is of great benefit to fields and vegetable gardens.

Pros of having a mole
Despite the large amount of damage that the animal brings, there are also positive aspects. The animal feeds on harmful larvae, field mice.

Curious facts

1. The European mole has a very large population, therefore it is not protected as a species by law. Previously prized for its velvet-like fur. The skin is very strong, and pleasant to the touch, previously mined in large quantities. To date, people have practically abandoned the production of such material.
2. The common mole is very useful in natural selection, thanks to its diet, the soil is deprived of harmful insects, larvae, worms and at the same time is enriched with organic substances.
3. Constant loosening has a beneficial effect on the condition of the soil. The flow of moisture and oxygen into underground areas is improved.

In developed countries, the fight against animals takes place in a humane way. For example, many people use drugs with a pungent odor (people usually resort to chopped onions, garlic or kerosene). They also use loud sounds, ultrasounds. A large number of ultrasonic deterrent devices have been produced today.

Video: European mole (Talpa europaea)

The mole is an animal known to everyone since childhood fairy tales, where he was always portrayed as a thrifty and economical owner. They live on the edges of the forest, meadow and floodplain lowlands of the vast expanses of Eurasia and North America. Such large territories have been developed by these animals due to their predominantly underground existence, where they hide from enemies and unfavorable external conditions.

Among all mammals, moles are best adapted to the underground existence. The oval dense body of the mole, thick neck and elongated front part of the head in the form of a stigma allow the animal to easily overcome underground labyrinths.

All moles are blind because their organs of vision are small holes covered with hair. In some individuals, such eye openings are completely closed. The mole's lack of normal vision is due to its underground lifestyle.

A photo. What can you see in the pitch darkness, and why, if the mole can hear perfectly?

Unlike most mammals, the mole does not have auricle, which would make life difficult for it underground. The hearing organs are represented by ear openings covered with skin folds that protect the ear canals of the mole from the ground.

Straight growing hairs of the coat of a mole can freely lie in any direction as the animal moves underground, without creating obstacles for it.

The whole life of a mole proceeds in constant digging of holes. Therefore, its front legs resemble a shovel in shape, and well-developed toes help to rake the dug earth.

Moles choose for themselves just that territory for living, where soft, pliable soil, in which it is easy to dig passages and tunnels. The mole digs the ground not for the sake of boredom, but to get food for itself.

A photo. The mole has worked.

A photo. The mole has done the job - now you can rest.

The places where the mole has settled can be easily identified by the fresh mounds of loose earth, which the mole pushes to the surface, freeing up the underground passages for itself, which it constructs at a depth of five to twenty centimeters. The constant work of an excavator requires a lot of energy. Therefore, moles are very voracious and can live without food for only 12 hours.

Contrary to popular belief among gardeners, the mole does not feed on vegetation, but prefers earthworms. He loves to feast on them so much that he makes winter supplies of worms. And so that the delicacy does not run away, the mole bites off the worms' heads. In a decapitated form, the worms become paralyzed, but remain alive, which makes it possible for the mole to eat them in a "fresh" form throughout the long winter.

Moles do not refuse insects and their larvae. They can eat with both a mouse and a shrew. Digging tunnels, the mole violates the structure of plant roots, which leads to their death. For this, gardeners do not favor the underground worker, but in vain.

After diligently working in the garden, the mole eats pests and their larvae, loosens the soil, enriching it with oxygen, which ultimately has a beneficial effect on the future harvest.

Warm and solid fur coat of a mole attracts people's attention, and many hunt these animals for their valuable fur. In addition to fur hunters, moles also have enemies among predators. Foxes destroy moles by digging their holes, and weasels hunt these animals and eat them en masse.

The photo shows newly born baby mole in the nest.

And in this photo, the baby mole has already grown up.

Watch the movie how the mole reproduces and lives in its natural habitat.