Post by Deleted on Jan 9, 2018 23:07:52 GMT
and got away with it..........
Moles have strong shoulders and large front feet, they can move 13.2 lbs (6KG) of soil in 20 mins , the equivalent of a Human Being moving (without the aid of machinery ! ) more than 629st 12.5lbs (4 tonnes) of earth in the same time span…...amazing !!!
They have poor eyesight but fantastic sense of smell and touch . Their nose is highly sensitive to smell, temperature and humidity, hairs on their face are sensitive to touch, and they carry their tail erect as the tiny hairs on the end tell them about their surroundings.
They live 4-7 years.
Moles are solitary and territorial and will not live in very close proximity to other Moles. Some peripheral tunnels are shared however, and they scent mark them as a warning.
In dry weather, they can travel over a mile in search of water. If near a stream or river, they will dig tunnels leading down to them for water.
Moles will fight when encountering each other and in the breeding season, it’s best that the male be cautious! if the female is not ready, she will be vicious !!
Males play no part in rearing the young. The female is a devoted parent.
When they first move into an area, they dig a series of tunnels very close to the surface, 5-10cm , which gives them immediate protection and enables them to obtain food it also enables them to check out the area before they settle to make sure there are no other Moles near to the place they’ve moved to.
When they decide all is well, they excavate deeper tunnels, 10" onwards to 5ft , if the soil is poor, they will have single depth tunnels, but where it’s good, they’ll have a series of tunnels at varying depth, above and below other tunnels, the tunnels can be more than half a mile long.
The hills you see above ground are, sometimes, as well as excavating soil, simply the Mole keeping its tunnels tidy!
They make a chamber in the centre of the tunnels, which is their bedroom and go above ground at night to collect soft materials, such as grass, leaves and straw for it’s bed, Crisp packets and fertilizer bags have also been found lining a nest (good insulation!)
The chamber will have several tunnels leading from it in case the Mole needs an escape route.
Their fave food is earthworms; they will eat other creatures too including beetles, slugs, grubs, snails and millipedes. They get a lot of their water from their food.
Moles catch some of their food by simply patroling their tunnels! earthworms etc fall into them and the Mole comes along and picks them up!
Moles will go above ground for food if they have to.
They will pull the worms through their front claws to clean the outer skin and to squeeze grit (which can ruin their teeth) from the gizzard before consuming them.
When they have an abundance of earthworms, they take the heads off and put them in a larder for future, just like we go shopping and fill our larders ! A cache of 1500 worms was found in one larder.
They use their tail to reverse and their fur lies either way, they can reverse rapidly if they need to, and their strong spine means they can turn round in a space only millimetres wider than their body.
Moles can swim.
There are no Moles in Ireland or several islands off the UK coast, nor in Greece, Portugal, Albania, Southern Italy and Iceland.
Moles are protected in Germany.
There are other species of Moles, check them out online, especially the Star Nosed Mole of North America, it is incredible to look at and incredibly fast at catching its food.
Books on Moles are hard to find but Shires (pamphlet books) publish The Mole by R. David Stone.
And Whittet publish Moles (The British Natural History Collection) by Rob Atkinson (author) and Belinda Atkinson (illustrator)
Oh !! …..and the King………..William the 3rd of England died from pneumonia, arising from him breaking his collarbone when his horse tripped over a Mole Hill……..the Mole got away with it ….. it was never found……
Moles have strong shoulders and large front feet, they can move 13.2 lbs (6KG) of soil in 20 mins , the equivalent of a Human Being moving (without the aid of machinery ! ) more than 629st 12.5lbs (4 tonnes) of earth in the same time span…...amazing !!!
They have poor eyesight but fantastic sense of smell and touch . Their nose is highly sensitive to smell, temperature and humidity, hairs on their face are sensitive to touch, and they carry their tail erect as the tiny hairs on the end tell them about their surroundings.
They live 4-7 years.
Moles are solitary and territorial and will not live in very close proximity to other Moles. Some peripheral tunnels are shared however, and they scent mark them as a warning.
In dry weather, they can travel over a mile in search of water. If near a stream or river, they will dig tunnels leading down to them for water.
Moles will fight when encountering each other and in the breeding season, it’s best that the male be cautious! if the female is not ready, she will be vicious !!
Males play no part in rearing the young. The female is a devoted parent.
When they first move into an area, they dig a series of tunnels very close to the surface, 5-10cm , which gives them immediate protection and enables them to obtain food it also enables them to check out the area before they settle to make sure there are no other Moles near to the place they’ve moved to.
When they decide all is well, they excavate deeper tunnels, 10" onwards to 5ft , if the soil is poor, they will have single depth tunnels, but where it’s good, they’ll have a series of tunnels at varying depth, above and below other tunnels, the tunnels can be more than half a mile long.
The hills you see above ground are, sometimes, as well as excavating soil, simply the Mole keeping its tunnels tidy!
They make a chamber in the centre of the tunnels, which is their bedroom and go above ground at night to collect soft materials, such as grass, leaves and straw for it’s bed, Crisp packets and fertilizer bags have also been found lining a nest (good insulation!)
The chamber will have several tunnels leading from it in case the Mole needs an escape route.
Their fave food is earthworms; they will eat other creatures too including beetles, slugs, grubs, snails and millipedes. They get a lot of their water from their food.
Moles catch some of their food by simply patroling their tunnels! earthworms etc fall into them and the Mole comes along and picks them up!
Moles will go above ground for food if they have to.
They will pull the worms through their front claws to clean the outer skin and to squeeze grit (which can ruin their teeth) from the gizzard before consuming them.
When they have an abundance of earthworms, they take the heads off and put them in a larder for future, just like we go shopping and fill our larders ! A cache of 1500 worms was found in one larder.
They use their tail to reverse and their fur lies either way, they can reverse rapidly if they need to, and their strong spine means they can turn round in a space only millimetres wider than their body.
Moles can swim.
There are no Moles in Ireland or several islands off the UK coast, nor in Greece, Portugal, Albania, Southern Italy and Iceland.
Moles are protected in Germany.
There are other species of Moles, check them out online, especially the Star Nosed Mole of North America, it is incredible to look at and incredibly fast at catching its food.
Books on Moles are hard to find but Shires (pamphlet books) publish The Mole by R. David Stone.
And Whittet publish Moles (The British Natural History Collection) by Rob Atkinson (author) and Belinda Atkinson (illustrator)
Oh !! …..and the King………..William the 3rd of England died from pneumonia, arising from him breaking his collarbone when his horse tripped over a Mole Hill……..the Mole got away with it ….. it was never found……
