Blind underground inhabitants, moles are real hard workers. They live in conditions that are very difficult for people to imagine. What is it like to exist without sunlight, hardly getting to the surface? However, nature has perfectly adapted these animals to an underground existence. True, some farmers and gardeners do not like moles because they rummage through their gardens and beds, but it is generally difficult for a person to get along in one place with many different animals.
Interesting facts about moles
- The main diet of this mammal is insects, but on occasion, moles do not disdain small animals, for example, frogs.
- Cannibalism is also not alien to moles, and they can easily eat their weaker relatives.
- In the wild, moles live mainly in Eurasia and North America, and in huge numbers (interesting facts about North America).
- The mole spends almost its entire life underground, so it has very poor eyesight, but its sense of smell is simply superbly developed.
- In a day, moles are able to dig a tunnel many tens of meters long.
- The mole obtains its main food, that is, insects, by getting to the food directly underground.
- During the day, the mole eats a huge amount of food, almost equal to its own weight.
- Moles also make reserves for a rainy day. In some of their pantries, of which they usually have several, they collect up to one and a half to two kilograms of food.
- Moving through underground passages, the mole quickly wears off its fur. But nature has provided for everything – these animals molt 3-4 times a year, each time acquiring a new coat.
- The mole’s hair grows straight, and is not oriented in any direction, like most other animals. Thanks to this property, the fur does not lift up when the mole moves forward or moves backward underground.
- This small animal has as many as 44 teeth in its mouth. However, body size is not indicative here – snails, for example, have many thousands of teeth (interesting facts about snails).
- About 1% of agricultural products die due to the fault of moles. Despite the fact that the animal does not consume plant food, preferring animal proteins, moles damage the root system of plants by digging their underground passages.
- Since ancient times people determined by wormholes what kind of winter it would be. If the mole began to dig a hole from the north side, then it is warm, from the south – cold. From the west, it means wet, and if from the east, then dry.
- In one minute, the mole is able to cover a distance of up to 30 centimeters underground.
- Almost all attempts to breed moles in captivity ended in failure: the animals soon died.
- This animal actually has eyes, and they function. It’s just that they are usually not visible, as they are covered with folds of skin.
- Females feed their cubs with milk until they get stronger and go into independent adulthood.
- Without food, moles able to live no more than 15-17 hours.
- In winter, moles do not hibernate, as many believe, their activity just becomes much lower. Hunting insects in the frozen ground is not easy, so they rely on stocks made during the warm season.
- There is a bone in the genital organ of male moles.
- The favorite delicacy of these animals is rain worms (interesting facts about annelids).
- In the center of their underground tunnels, the mole usually arranges a bedroom, from which there are numerous branches to the storerooms.
- The length of the wormhole can reach several hundred meters.
- Mud hardly sticks to mole hair.