Common mole
The eastern mole or common mole (Scalopus aquaticus ) is a medium-sized, overall grey North American mole and the only member of the genus Scalopus. Its large, hairless, spade-shaped forefeet are adapted for digging. The species is native to Canada (Ontario), Mexico, and the eastern United States, and has the widest range of any North American mole.
The species prefers the loamy soils found in thin woods, fields, pastures, and meadows, and builds both deep and shallow burrows characterized by discarded excess soil collected in molehills. Its nest is composed of leaves and grasses, and its two to five young are on their own at about four weeks. Its diet consists principally of earthworms and other soil life, but the eastern mole will also eat vegetable matter.
Dogs, cats, foxes, and coyotes prey upon the eastern mole, and the species hosts a variety of parasites. Unlike gophers, moles do not eat vegetation and pose no threat to human concerns; the occasional damage to lawns is offset by the aeration provided the soil and consumption of insects. The construction of golf courses has provided the mole with ideal habitat. The species is abundant, occurs in protected areas, faces no major threats and is of little concern to conservationists.
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CrepuscularCrepuscular animals are those that are active primarily during twilight (that is, the periods of dawn and dusk). This is distinguished from diurnal...
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NocturnalNocturnality is an animal behavior characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal",...
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CarnivoreA carnivore meaning 'meat eater' is an organism that derives its energy and nutrient requirements from a diet consisting mainly or exclusively of a...
Vermivore (from Latin vermi, meaning "worm" and vorare, "to devour") is a zoological term for animals that eat worms (including annelids, nematodes...
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TerrestrialTerrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land (e.g., cats, ants, snails), as compared with aquatic animals, which liv...
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AltricialAltricial animals are those species whose newly hatched or born young are relatively immobile. They lack hair or down, are not able to obtain food ...
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FossorialA fossorial animal is one adapted to digging which lives primarily but not solely, underground. Some examples are badgers, naked mole-rats, clams, ...
Among animals, viviparity is the development of the embryo inside the body of the parent. The term 'viviparity' and its adjective form 'viviparous'...
A burrow is a hole or tunnel excavated into the ground by an animal to create a space suitable for habitation, temporary refuge, or as a byproduct ...
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starts withEastern moles are small mammals with velvety gray fur, a slim pointy nose, tiny eyes, large front paws, scoop-shaped for digging, and short hairless tails. It is a secretive animal and rarely seen, but it leaves obvious signs of its activity - mounds of excavated dirt (molehills or “push ups”) - and raised earth tunnels that it builds in gardens, lawns and fields. They have no external ears or eyes though it may be that their poorly developed eyes can detect light. One individual in captivity lived for longer than 36 months but in the wild it is thought that they live for less.
The Eastern mole is a native of Canada (Ontario), the United States and northwestern Mexico, and has the most extensive range of all the North American moles. It is found in the US from southern Wisconsin and South Dakota to eastern Massachusetts and down to Louisiana and the tip of Florida and west to Kansas, Nebraska, and central Texas. It prefers fields, pastures, meadows, and open woodland. It does not occur in stony or gravelly soils or clay but in sandy, moist loamy soils.
Eastern moles inhabit subterranean tunnel systems, and only occasionally go above ground. Under the ground is where they find shelter and food. Eastern moles are solitary animals for most of the year, defending their tunnels from others, until in late March or early April when males will search for mates in neighboring tunnels. These moles are active at all hours, peaking in activity around dawn and dusk, which means they are crepuscular. They probably use their acute senses of touch and smell to find their way around and to detect prey. Because their burrows are generally below the frost, moles do not hibernate, and they remain active in winter. They make high-pitched squeals, squeaks that are harsh and guttural, short snorting sounds, and they grate their teeth.
Eastern moles are carnivores and primarily eat earthworms but will also eat insects and their larvae, vegetation, and, when in captivity, dog food, ground beef mice, and small birds.
Little is known about the mating system of Eastern moles. Mating is from February to March. They build nests from grasses, leaves, and parts of plants in a burrow under a boulder, log, or stump. Gestation is usually for 45 days and a litter of two to five is born between mid-April and June. The young can be born in March in warm climates. When born they are blind and naked, and relatively large compared in size with their mother. At 10 days old they have a light-gray fine, velvety fur, which lasts for several weeks. Fast growth means that they can leave the nest and forage for themselves at around four weeks old.
Eastern moles are not endangered but have suffered persecution by keen gardeners and farmers objecting to the mounds of earth they make and the root damage they cause.
The IUCN Red List and other sources do not provide the Eastern mole total population size, but it's presumed to be large. This species is common in most of the USA. Populations in southern Texas and Mexico are considered extremely rare and possibly extinct. According to the Species at Risk Public Registry, the total population size of the Eastern mole in Canada is 2,000-13,000 individuals. Overall, eastern moles’ numbers are stable today and currently they are classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List.
Eastern moles are important as predators of invertebrates such as insect larvae and can profoundly impact their prey communities. They aerate and turn the soil in their environment due to their extensive tunneling work.