I'd guess they're babies. Mole fur (or, I guess, the pelt of a mole) is the only animal fur that doesn't have a direction or nap...it doesn't lie in one direction or another. I 'spect that allows for Moley to move through the earth without matting up with dirt 'n' such. I wonder if these are star-nosed moles and if the nose-bits develop later, too. Moles also have a unique-looking scapula (shoulder-blade) that looks like a "mustard paddle" that used to be included in the Auld Days in jars of mustard, resembling an oar. Just in case you ever run across a tiny cemetery and wonder who was entombed there...
The lack of nap on mole hair lets them back up in their tight body-sized tunnels without getting stuck like Chinese finger-cuffs. :)
They have the weirdest front feet. And sometimes they make odd little electronic peeping noises, too...that's how I found my first mole. He was in loamy soil and I heard this noise...located it, saw where he was moving, and stuck one hand through the dirt behind him and one hand in front. Voila! A little furry mole!
These uglies look more like something from Hagrid's Care of Magical Creatures class than critters you might find in your yard while gardening. But nope, they're just your average, mundane mole.
I know that most moles have fur, so I'm not sure what this pair's story is. Are they babies? Are they nudists? Are they deviants who are defying the elders of mole society? Are they genetic aberrations that should be captured and given to science for further research? So many questions.
As an interesting side note (well, as interesting as you think moles might be), they eat their own weight in food every day, and may starve to death if they go 12 hours without food. Sounds like my teenage brother.
Photo courtesy: Tracy Lee Carroll [Image]
posted by Raging Wombat at 12:46 PM on Dec 7, 2006
7 Comments
Close this window Jump to comment formI'd guess they're babies. Mole fur (or, I guess, the pelt of a mole) is the only animal fur that doesn't have a direction or nap...it doesn't lie in one direction or another. I 'spect that allows for Moley to move through the earth without matting up with dirt 'n' such.
I wonder if these are star-nosed moles and if the nose-bits develop later, too.
Moles also have a unique-looking scapula (shoulder-blade) that looks like a "mustard paddle" that used to be included in the Auld Days in jars of mustard, resembling an oar. Just in case you ever run across a tiny cemetery and wonder who was entombed there...
December 07, 2006
Well, thank you for the info, bats. I didn't know that you wre our resident mole expert! Me likey. Keep it coming.
December 07, 2006
HAM ANYONE?
December 08, 2006
Mmmm, little ham hocks.
December 08, 2006
The lack of nap on mole hair lets them back up in their tight body-sized tunnels without getting stuck like Chinese finger-cuffs. :)
They have the weirdest front feet. And sometimes they make odd little electronic peeping noises, too...that's how I found my first mole. He was in loamy soil and I heard this noise...located it, saw where he was moving, and stuck one hand through the dirt behind him and one hand in front. Voila! A little furry mole!
Chris
May 21, 2007
I love the story, Chris!
May 21, 2007
Aww! They're kinda cute in an ugly sort of way...
July 17, 2007