Article for those who are interested in the life span of a mole and other important facts related to the animal

Everyone knows about an animal that is called a mole. Even in early childhood, kids learn about it from the fairy tale about Thumbelina. But the question of what the life span of a mole is, will cause confusion in most people.

How many years does the mole live?

And really, what is the life expectancy of a mole? It turns out that basically these animals die four, or even five years after their birth. If, of course, he is not yet eaten by weasel, marten, fox, buzzard, owl or owl. And sometimes this seems to be such a calm and even slow-moving beast for lunch to his kinsman.

However strange it may sound, moles are extremely pugnacious and unruly, they are simply beset by occasional "guests" who have fallen on their plot. The fights almost always end with the death of one of the rivals. And the winner as a prize falls "lucky ticket" in the form of an opportunity to have lunch with the defeated. Here is such an ugly feature, as cannibalism, it turns out, is inherent in moles.

Depends on the life expectancy of a mole and on various diseases. In addition to pyroplasmosis and tularemia, parasitic worms, mites, fleas are a threat to them.

Unfavorable weather conditions and their influence on mole life expectancy

The most difficult time of the year for most animals is winter. Moles in this sense are no exception. And in the little snow-cold winters, when the soil is deeply frozen, many of them die. So the weather can influence the fact that the mole lives.

Also hard to bear these animals drought. But the waters are not afraid, even sometimes they swim small rivulets. Often, on the banks of water bodies, people discover rifts - exits from the ground, which break off at the shore, and then continue on the other shore.

The hunger strike for a mole is fatal

The fact that the mole lives is affected by the feeding of the animal. It turns out that the food is digested in him for four hours, so he often needs to "refuel". Even a short starvation from fourteen to seventeen hours can lead to death.

And who knows what the mole feeds 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, woodworms, millipedes. For one feeding mole can eat twenty-two grams of food, and for a day - up to sixty grams.

For catching earthworms moles erupt under the ground special fodder moves, in them they arrange traps. The earthworms, attracted by the special musk of these insectivorous "hunters" - a fragrant bait, creep into the smell and become prey to moles.

It happens that a mole can eat a mouse, a lizard or a frog. But this can happen only if the small animal for some reason is immobilized.

So it is not necessary to state that the moles ate the whole harvest in the garden or at the dacha. Rather, the damage from them is due to the buried ground passages, which, of course, destroy many plants, and because of the earth slides that appear during the digging process.

How to winter moles

It turns out these animals do not go into hibernation. Even in the coldest winters the mole in nature is in a vigorous state - hunger is not a woman, as they say. Paving the passages under the snow, he searches for the accumulation of wintering insects, which constitute his lunch. He is looking for prey mole and underground, digging the soil at a depth where it is in an unhardened state.

Also these rodents make themselves and stocks. Collecting earthworms, which he is no longer able to eat in one sitting, the mole bites his head, thereby paralyzing the invertebrate. As necessary, the reserved master fills the stomach with food from his bins.

Appearance and physiological structure of moles

Interesting features of these underground animals are:

• eyes;
• wool;
• front legs;
• skeleton.

Eyes

It is believed that moles have no vision organs. In fact, the animals have eyes, only the European moles, for example, they are extremely small. The size of the pinhead, they are hidden in the wool. In addition, the eye itself is only half a millimeter to a millimeter in length. To see an animal can only light, practically not distinguishing objects.

And the Caucasian moles have their eyes covered with a skinny film. Under the ground in the dark, there is really nothing to look at, but the soil will not fall into the eyes.

Body hair

The entire animal is covered with a delicate velvety black fur that is slightly lighter on the abdomen. Occasionally, white moles with cream tan marks are found in nature, gray or brown with different shades of this color.

The pile of fur in the mole is directed upwards 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 which it moves underground not only forward, but also backward.

Structure of paws and skeleton in a mole

The forepaws of the animal are turned outwards by the palms - it is most convenient to dig under the ground. Like a miniature sapper shovel , the mole pits underground tunnels, throwing the earth back. The toes of the animal are covered with thick skin and end with huge flattened claws.

The features of the structure of the skeleton and the front legs are such that it is convenient for the mole to move inside the underground passage. But on the surface the animals become clumsy. They are extremely difficult to move, because they crawl, and do not walk like other animals.

Reproduction of moles

Mating of animals occurs in March-April. The female nurses offspring from 35 to 40 days, after which three to nine naked, blind, absolutely helpless babies appear, who weigh no more than three grams!

Most often, there are only one litter in the female during the year. But in 25 percent of cases, adult females can produce a second summer offspring.

Toddlers grow very quickly, catching up to the size of adults by the age of one month. And six weeks after birth, the young are separated from their parents, looking for a place free from moles. Usually, adolescents leave the mother for a site located within a radius of two meters.