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European Mole / Krtica
Talpa europaea L.
45.7869, 15.9581
Field Notes
Description:
Poor little animal, when I found it it was barely alive, unfortunately it didn't survived, the vet said it ate some poison for rats :( The bite on the side took place after this poor animal was confused by the poison.
While moles are typically found in tunnel systems, the European mole is not exclusively an underground dweller. In the spring and early summer when the young moles leave the mother’s burrows they must find new territory. This forces them to leave their burrow and they can either make new tunnel systems or enter existing systems. In the summer time, however, they will likely burrow much more superficially. The superficial burrowing could be due in part to the soil that is much harder, which makes burrowing a greater challenge.
It has a cylindrical body and is around 12 cm (5 inches) long. Females are typically smaller than males. The eyes are small and hidden behind fur, while the ears are just small ridges in the skin. The fur is usually dark grey, but the actual range of colors is larger, as due to the subterranean habits there is no disadvantage in having off-colored fur. European moles with white, light grey, tan, taupe, and black fur have all been reported.
Habitat:
It have also been found to spend a lot of time at the sides of drainage lines and streams (like the area on the photo, the location is next to the river) but do not inhabit flooded or dry soils. However, dry areas do become important when their normal habitats become flooded. Factors such as the type of soil, vegetation present, and altitude have no effect on the areas that moles choose to inhabit. The one factor that does greatly influence the mole population in a specific area is the abundance of earthworms.
Notes:
Other names: common mole, northern mole
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