Everyone knows about an animal called a mole. Even in early childhood, kids learn about him from a fairy tale about Thumbelina. But the question of what is the life span of a mole will cause confusion for most people.
How old is a mole?
But really, what is the life span of a mole? It turns out that basically these animals die four, or even five years after their birth. Unless, of course, weasel, marten, fox, buzzard, owl or owl will not eat it even earlier. And sometimes this seemingly so calm and even slow-moving little animal gets lunch for its relative.
No matter how strange it may sound, but moles are extremely pugnacious and uninviting, they are simply enraged by random "guests" who came to their site. Fights almost always end in the death of one of the rivals. And the winner receives a “happy ticket” as a prize in the form of an opportunity to dine with the vanquished. Here such an ugly trait as cannibalism, it turns out, is inherent in moles.
Mole life also depends on various diseases. In addition to pyroplasmosis and tularemia, parasitic worms, ticks, and fleas pose a threat to them.
Adverse weather conditions and their impact on mole life expectancy
The hardest time of the year for most animals is winter. Moles in this sense are no exception. And in cold winters with little snow, when the soil deeply freezes, many of them die. So the weather can influence the fact how much the mole lives.
These animals are also hard-pressed to drought. But the waters are not afraid, even small rivers sometimes cross. Often on the shores of reservoirs people find snouts - exits from the land that break off off the coast and then continue on the other bank again.
The hunger strike for the mole is deadly
How much the mole lives is influenced by the nutrition of the animal. It turns out that the food is digested with him for four hours, so he often needs to “refuel”. Even a short fast of fourteen to seventeen hours can be fatal.
And who knows what the mole eats in nature? Many believe that this animal adores root crops, therefore it is a pest of gardens and vegetable gardens, destroying crops. In fact, moles are predators. Their diet consists mainly of invertebrates: worms, snails, slugs, larvae and pupae of insects, wood lice, millipedes. A mole can eat twenty-two grams of food per feed, and up to sixty grams per day.
To catch earthworms, moles break special feed passages underground, they set traps in them. Earthworms, which are attracted to the special musk of these insectivorous "hunters" - the odorous bait, crawl by smell and become the prey of moles.
It happens that a mole can eat a mouse, a lizard or a frog. But this can happen only if the small animal is immobilized for any reason.
So do not say that the moles ate the entire crop in the garden or in the country. Rather, the harm from them is due to the dug ground passages, which, of course, destroy many plants, and due to the earthen slides that appear during the process of digging.
How moles hibernate
It turns out that these animals do not hibernate. Even in the coldest winters, the mole in nature is awake - hunger is not aunt, as they say. Paving moves under the snow, he looks for clusters of wintering insects that make up his lunch. The mole is also looking for prey underground, digging the soil at a depth where it is in the unfrozen state.
Also do these rodents themselves and stocks. Collecting earthworms, which he is no longer able to eat in one sitting, the mole bites their heads, thereby paralyzing the invertebrate. As necessary, the thrifty owner fills the stomach with food from his bins.
The appearance and physiological structure of moles
Interesting features of these underground animals are their:
- eyes;
- wool;
- front legs;
- skeleton.
Eyes
It is believed that moles lack organs of vision. In fact, the animals have eyes, only European moles, for example, they are extremely small. The size of a pinhead, they are hidden in wool. In addition, the eye slot itself is only a half millimeter to a millimeter long. Only light can see an animal, practically not distinguishing objects.
And Caucasian moles eyes are completely covered with a leathery film. Underground in the dark, there’s nothing much to look at, but the soil will not get into your eyes.
Body hair
The whole animal is covered with delicate velvety black fur, which is slightly lighter on the abdomen. Occasionally found in nature are white moles with cream tan, gray or brown with various shades of this color.
The pile of fur at the mole is directed upward and easily changes direction forward or backward. This allows the animal to move in any direction. In addition, the tail of the animal’s tail is an organ of touch, thanks to it it moves underground not only forward, but also backward.
The structure of the legs and skeleton of a mole
The front legs of the animal are turned outward by palms - this is the most convenient way to dig underground. As if with miniature sapper shovels, the mole makes underground tunnels, throwing the earth back. The fingers of the animal are covered with thick skin and end with huge flattened claws.
The structural features of the skeleton and forepaws are such that it is convenient for the mole to advance inside the underpass. But on the surface, the animals become awkward. It is extremely difficult for them to move around, because they crawl, and do not walk, like other animals.
Mole breeding
Mating of animals takes place in March-April. The female carries offspring from 35 to 40 days, after which from three to nine naked, blind, completely helpless babies are born who weigh no more than three grams!
Most often, females have only one offspring during the year. But in 25 percent of cases, adult females can produce a second summer offspring.
Kids grow up very quickly, catching up in the size of adults by the age of one month. And a month and a half after birth, the young animals separate from their parents, looking for a place free from moles. Typically, adolescents leave their mother for a site located within a radius of two meters.