European Mole

Fascinating facts about the European Mole

• Thirty-five to forty million European moles turn the UK into a living carpet of tunnels, their bodies measure 11 to 16 cm long and weigh 70 to 130 g, a size that lets them slip through narrow passages while still moving enough earth to create the familiar molehills. This sheer numbers-driven engineering reshapes soil structure, boosting aeration.
• Mating bursts into action for just a few weeks in March and April, then a gestation of four to five weeks produces litters of two to seven pups that are born at the end of April or early May. The young stay in the nest for about five weeks before venturing above ground, a period when mortality spikes because predators can finally see them. This tight reproductive schedule means each female contributes only one generation per year, linking population stability directly to earthworm abundance.
• A European mole's eye is a mere 1 mm in diameter, buried beneath fur, yet it still retains photopic vision. About 2 000 ganglion cells and a 50 µm optic nerve with 3 000 axons give it enough light sensitivity to withdraw when a flashlight shines on it and to discriminate light from dark. This limited sight likely helps detect predators that breach tunnels, showing that even a near-blind mammal keeps a visual alarm system for survival.
• European moles consume roughly half their body weight in food each day, preferring earthworms above all else. In captivity they will also eat liver, mice, mealworms, shrews and maggots, but wild individuals focus on the abundant worm population, switching to insects when worms are scarce.
• A single mole can build a "fortress" mound containing more than 750 kg of soil, while its tunnel system may stretch up to half a kilometre. These extensive underground architectures providing shelter for the moles. The sheer volume of moved earth improves soil aeration.

Sources

Every fact above was checked against these pages, and kept only where one of them states it.

• Wikipedia
• Animal Diversity Web

At a glance

About the European Mole

In the secret realm beneath our feet, the European mole moves with purpose, its stout body undulating as it navigates the dark, damp tunnels it has excavated with relentless industry. With each powerful thrust of its spade-like front paws, it propels itself through the earth, leaving behind a labyrinthine network of narrow passageways that crisscross the soil like an invisible metropolis. As it forages for invertebrate prey, its sensitive snout twitches with an almost imperceptible delicacy, a testament to the extraordinary adaptability of this subterranean specialist.

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