Mole | Facts & Information
# Mole | Facts & Information
Mole | Discover Fascinating Facts and Information About Mole
The mole (sole europaea) is spread almost throughout Europe reaching central and septentrional Asia; in apli climbs up to 2000 m. in our country it is found on wide areas between the lowlands and the mountains.
Area: Europe and Asia
Habitat: in galleries in the ground
Food: omnivorous
Size: 12-15cm
Weight: 250-550g
Speed: 6km / h (4mph)
Colors: brown, black, gray, white
Breeding: 4 chicks
Predators: Wildcat, owl, Fox
Live: solitary
Average age: 10 – 12 years
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Mole
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Animals
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Species
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Languages
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Facts
Features: long, strong and curved claws, poor eyesight
It lives only underground , in a complicated gallery, which is recognized outside by the mounds of Earth.
True labyrinths formed from the system of tunnels of a single mole have been discovered, a record in the matter recording the length of 360 meters for such a gallery!
Also, although in appearance they seem to collapse easily, the tunnels dug by the mole are quite durable, being able to withstand even periods of over 5 years, which is longer than an average mole lives.
Thus, that domain is inherited by a follower or even a neighbor…
Feeding The Mole
The main purpose of this incessant digging activity is to find food, that is small insects, eggs and their larvae, frames, worms that live in the ground, even spiders, but also roots or underground stems of some plants.
This "list of the menu" causes two completely different assessments of the mole. Most of the farmers (even the owners of small gardens around the House) consider the mole a very harmful animal, which destroys the bulbs and roots of the plants that it encounters in the path of its tunnels.
Others, especially environmentalists, say about the mole that it is very useful, primarily because it eats all kinds of harmful insects (starting with their eggs and larvae), but also because the galleries dug by it contribute to aeration of the soil and mixing layers of nutrient soil for plants (you have seen, of course, many people who turn the mole burrows into flower soil for their houseplants).
Appearance Mole
The mole is the animal known to all gardeners because it is the animal that damages their lawn, plants or vegetables in the garden. The mole has a body length of 125-150-165 mm, a tail of about 30 mm, hind paw of 20 mm and a small head of 30-38 mm.
The mole has a short, thick, cylindrical body. His eyes are whitish black, confused with the color of the coat, small as a poppy grain , so that the iris and pupil can not be distinguished. The ears have them without pavilions, covered by a short bend of the skin, hidden under the dense hair.
The mole has short but wide forelegs, as long as the chest touches the ground, and the legs are almost entirely joined by a palmate membrane, with broad and thick nails. The hind legs are separate, with thin and sharp nails.
The hair is generally dark tan with blue or white reflections. Young people have gray hair. Adult specimens are found Gray, on the abdomen with longitudinal stripes sure-yellowish on gray background. Some specimens black, with white spots.
The mole is about the size of a rat, with its head covered with dark fur (mostly black). He works tirelessly to build a network of tunnels, he can even dig up to 4 and a half meters per hour, the daily average often exceeding 30 meters from the gallery!
And these excavations are not done randomly, you can see true plans after which two types of tunnels are built: some vertical, going to the depth, to hiding places far from the surface, and others horizontal, at a higher level, to store supplies.
Behavior Mole
It is the only animal almost completely deprived of sight. Moreover, the sight would not help the little mole, as long as it lives only in the underground tunnels, which it conscientiously digs into the soft soil under the meadows and forests, avoiding the rocky terrain, which it could not cross.
Nor is smell a sense on which the mole can rely in the dark galleries from which it almost never emerges.
Therefore, any escape from the darkness is very dangerous for the mole, any exit to the light is highly awaited by its natural enemies…
Breeding Mole
Although they are not solitary animals, moles live in solitude for most of the year, only in late winter do the males begin to search for females through the dark tunnels.
After 4-6 weeks, the chicks appear, which are – in the first days of life – completely devoid of hair, but otherwise look exactly like miniature adults. A couple of moles can have one or two cubs in a year – in most cases, rarely giving birth to three, four or a maximum of five small moles.
Although it is not considered an endangered species, in many areas of the world moles are subject to real persecution by farmers, gardeners and farmers outraged by the damage that the little "sappers" bring to crops.
The scientific name of this animal is the sole europaea, zoologists also call it sobol. It is widespread all over the world, except in the Arctic, Australia and New Zealand. The mole has a close relative who loves wetlands and feeds in ponds and streams.
It is about the stellate-nosed mole (condylura cristata) whose nose has a ring of 22 pink tentacles, with which it detects underwater larvae and other small animals.
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Mole | Facts & InformationMole | Discover Fascinating Facts and Information About Mole