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Mole is the common name for 20–29 species of predominantly burrowing insectivores of family Talpidae restricted to Eurasia and North America. Six species occur in Canada.
Distribution and Habitat
Shrew, coast and Townsend's moles (Neurotrichus gibbsii, Scapanus orarius, S. townsendii respectively) live in extreme southwestern BC; eastern mole (S. aquaticus) in Essex County, Ontario; hairy-tailed mole (Parascalops breweri) in forests of Ontario and Quebec; and the somewhat aquatic star-nosed mole (Condylura cristata) from the Maritimes to Manitoba and North to the boreal forest.
Description
Moles have cylindrical bodies; dense, velvetlike fur; pointed, mobile snouts (with fingerlike appendages in the star-nosed mole); minute eyes and external ears greatly reduced or lacking. The five-toed feet show varying degrees of adaptation for swimming (European water moles) or burrowing.
Reproduction and Development
Moles usually mate in spring; gestation lasts 4–6 weeks; litters average 2–5 young. They may live 3–4 years.
Diet
Canadian species are largely subterranean, preying mainly on soil invertebrates. They may eat their own weight in food daily.
