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Moles are abundant throughout Britain except for Ireland,
and they spend the majority of their lives below ground
Their fore limbs are well-adapted for burrowing
in earth, being shovel shaped and turned outwards to
facilitate earth removal. Moles have poor eyesight their
eyes being greatly reduced in size. They are about
15cm in length, have a shiny black short coat with a velvety
appearance and a short thin tail.
Moles breed from February to June with only one litter of
young being the norm. The gestation period is about 4 weeks
and the young are born pink skinned, blind and wholly dependant on their mother. The average
litter size is 4 but anything from 2 to 7 are born in a
specially constructed extra large mound of earth
called a "fortress".
The young mature quickly and leave the nest after about 5
weeks. Moles do not hibernate and are extremely active
creating and extending a network of tunnels below ground.
These tunnels are regularly patrolled in
search of earthworms, their main food but insect larvae and
slugs also occasionally form part of their diet.
Moles are solitary and very territorial, only coming
together to breed. The presence of moles is usually noted by
the appearance of casts of earth thrown up from
tunnels excavated below ground. The quantity or mole hills
is not an indication of the number of moles present.
Moles are so fiercely territorial that one mole's
territory might be as much as 200 m2 (1 imperial acre), and
even in the largest of garden situations, many casts of
earth will be the result of one mole. Moles rarely traffic
above ground and droppings or surface runs never occur.
Mole hills are unsightly dotted over ornamental lawns and
are particularly damaging on golf greens, bowling greens and
playing fields. Damage to mowing
machines can occur from excavated stones in mole hills,
contacting with mower blades.
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