Southern Short-tailed Shrew (Blarina carolinensis) lives in moist woodland areas across Southeastern United States. Its conservation status is Least Concern.
Fascinating facts about the Southern Short-tailed Shrew
- Tiny as a thumbtack, the southern short-tailed shrew measures just 75 to 105 mm from nose to tail tip and weighs only 15 to 30 g, making it the smallest member of its genus. Its body is compact with a short, thick neck and a hair-covered tail only 17 to 30 mm long.
- A bite from this shrew delivers a venom that can kill a mouse, yet it never proves lethal to people, only causing intense, lingering pain. The toxin is secreted in its saliva and injected through its sharp teeth when it subdues insects and annelids. This biochemical weapon conserves the energy needed for its frantic half-body-weight daily meals.
- Running a metabolic furnace, the southern short-tailed shrew must consume about half its own weight in food every 24 hours, insects, worms and spiders. To meet this demand it forages nonstop, using echolocation to pinpoint prey hidden in soil and leaf litter. This relentless appetite drives rapid turnover of soil invertebrate populations, shaping the micro-ecosystem and supporting the food web that many larger predators rely on.
- Breeding twice each year, females produce two to six newborns per litter between March and November, with peaks in April and October. After a gestation of 21-30 days, the altricial pups, each weighing about one gram, are tucked into nests of grasses and leaves at the end of tunnels roughly 30 cm deep or inside rotting logs.
- From southern Virginia down to eastern Texas and as far north as southern Illinois, this shrew thrives in moist, well-drained pine forests, swamps, and even abandoned farms. It builds two-layered burrow systems, often beneath decaying logs that it can hollow out, with a shallow surface tunnel linked to a deeper chamber about 30 cm underground. Such hidden homes protect it from predators like hawks, owls and snakes, while allowing easy access to the rich invertebrate buffet below the forest floor.
Sources
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At a glance
RangeSoutheastern United States
HabitatMoist woodland areas
DietInsects & worms
About the Southern Short-tailed Shrew
In the damp, leaf-littered undergrowth of the southeastern United States, the Southern Short-tailed Shrew darts and weaves with frenetic energy, its tiny, pointed snout twitching as it navigates a hidden world of insect prey and buried treasures. With a furious metabolism driving its every move, this diminutive predator is a whirlwind of activity, its short, velvety fur a blur as it pursues its next meal with relentless zeal. As it burrows and scurries through the shadows, the Southern Short-tailed Shrew embodies the very essence of life at the edge, where survival is a constant, thrilling challenge.
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