Holey Moley!
There's more to moles than meets the eye
This story appeared on page 4 of the Columbia Missourian's
Mini-MO newspaper for kids on August 2, 1996.
By Sid Perkins
Missourian Staff Writer
Maybe you've noticed that there area lot of different animals that visit your yard. If you live in the country, maybe you've seen raccoons, opossums and large animals like deer. Even if you live in the city, I'll bet you've seen squirrels and many different types of birds.
But there is probably one animal that visits your yard that you probably haven't seen: a mole.
I'll bet you haven't seen one because they live underground. They use their big front feet to dig tunnels in their search for food. Moles usually eat other animals that live underground such as worms, grubs and insects. About 15 percent of the mole's diet, however, comes from plants, including seeds of oats, wheat, corn and grass.
Moles almost never come above ground. Think about it: Moles are safe underground because most of the animals that might eat them can't see them there. The food that a mole eats is found underground, too, so a mole never as to come above ground to go "shopping".
Maybe you've seen the tunnels that moles dig through your yard, or the small mounds of dirt that they push up when they come close to the surface. Those tunnels are temporary, and are usually dug only while the mole looks for food, or when the ground is soft after a rain. Moles can dig about one foot of tunnel each hour.
The permanent tunnels where a mole lives are usually deeper in the ground, sometimes 10 to 18 inches deep. In the winter, these deep tunnels are below the frost line, where the ground never freezes.
Moles are mammals, which means they have fur and they give birth to live young. Adult moles are usually between 5 and 8 inches long, and their fur is short and gray.
You might think that an animal that lives underground and digs tunnels would be very dirty or muddy, but if you could capture a mole you would be surprised. The mole's fur is very shiny and very clean.
The mole's eyes are very small. They are hidden and protected beneath its fur, so the mole doesn't get dirt in them when it digs tunnels. Also, the mole does not need to see very well because it lives underground where it is dark.
The mole's ears are very small and do not stick out from its head like human ears do. A mole's ear holes are protected beneath its fur, too. Let's face it: If a mole had big ears like Ross Perot, it would be difficult for him to squeeze down a very tight tunnel.
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Copyright 1996 by Missourian Publishing Association Inc.
All rights reserved.
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