Small burrowing mammals with velvety fur, tiny eyes and ears, and big, powerful front paws for digging. Gardeners see them as pests, but they aerate the soil and eat slugs and root-eating grubs.
Quick answers
What is it?Mammal
Carnivore?Insects only
Dangerous?No
Domesticated?No
Awake when?Day & night
Hibernates?No
Kept as a pet?No
Do people eat it?No
At a glance
Found inEurope, Asia, North America
HabitatGrassland, Farmland, Forest
ColoursBlack, Grey
SizeTiny
Length11.3–15.9 cm (European mole)
Weight72–128 g (European mole)
Legs4
Covered inFur
Lives alone
Lives for3–6 years
Can swim
In the wild
- Where it lives
- Most of North America, Europe (except Ireland) and Asia.
- What it eats
- Earthworms and other small soil invertebrates.
Did you know
Stores live earthworms, paralysed, in an underground larder.
African golden moles and Australian marsupial moles live the same way but aren’t related.
Often confused with
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