The Mole

The mole digging up a garden.

      The  Mole  is  the  first  of  the  true  insect-eating  animals  living  almost  entirely  under  the ground.  Its  fur  is  very  fine,  and,  as  the  hair  has  no  grain, none  of  the  particles  of  soil  through  which  it  passes  sticks  to  it.  Its  eyes  are very  poor, ‚Äî in  fact,  unless  you  know  where  to  look  for  them  you  would  fancy it  did  not  have  any.  However,  if  you  sprinkle  a  little  cold  water  on  its  head, it  will  show  two  small,  black,  beady  eyes.  Its  muscles  are  very  strong  and  its diggers  large  for  its  size.  The  mole  is  able  to  bore  through  the  earth  with amazing  rapidity.  It  feeds  largely  on  worms,  and  herein  is  seen  its  wonderful skill.  Its  strong  diggers  enable  it  to  chase  the  worms  through  all  their  windings  in  and  out,  following  them  by  smell  and  sound.  The  hearing  of  the  mole is  proverbial,  while  its  sense  of  smell  is  delicate.  It  uses  its  nose  to  find  the softest  earth  to  burrow  through,  and  often  does  some  of  the  work  too  like  a pioneer.
       The  mole  is  fierce  and  quarrelsome.  The  males  far  outnumber  the females  in  this  family,  so  when  the  pairing  season  comes  round  there  are  fierce battles'  between  the  males.  On  one  occasion  a  hunter  noticed  some  grass moving  in  an  odd  way,  and  going up  to  see  what  was  the  cause  of  it he  found  two  moles  in  mortal  combat. They  were  so  absorbed  in  their  fight that  they  did  not  notice  the  stranger, and  indeed  they  came  within  an inch  of  his  toes  during  the  struggle.
       After  awhile  one  of  the  moles  began to  beat  a  hasty  retreat.  The  other followed  it,  and  with  every  show  of  ferocity began  to  tear  it  to  pieces.  The mole  makes  a  bad  pet,  as  it  never displays  any  liveliness  except  at meal-times,  and  then,  having  gorged itself,  it  goes  to  sleep  again.  It  does a  great  deal  of  damage  to  lawns  and gardens  by  tunneling  under  the  top soil.  These  tunnels  are  often  hundreds of  feet  in  length.  At  the  same time  many  people  believe  that  the earth  is  all  the  better  for  having  been stirred  up,  and  turned  over.

Study The Mole

Common European Mole

       The  Common  Mole  (Talpa  europcea)  belongs  to  the  order  of  the  Insectivora,  an  order  of  animals  small  in  size,  and  m  stly  of  more  or  less  purely nocturnal  habits.  Closely  akin  to  it  are  the  hedgehogs  and  shrews,  which belong  to  th.  same  order.  The  insectivora  are  in  many  ways  closely  related to  the  bats.  In  general  appearance  some  of  the  members  of  the  order  closely resemble  the  gnawing  animals  or  rodents.  Shrews  in  particular  are  very  like mice,  and  are  usually,  indeed,  spoken  of  as  shrew-mice.  It  was  its  close resemblance  to  the  shrew  that  led  people  in  England  in  olden  times  to  call  the bat  a  flitter-mouse,  a  name  by  which  it  is  still  spoken  of  in  some  parts  of  the country.

       The  mole  is  clearly  distinguished  from  other  insectivores  by  the  perfect adaptation  of  its  form  to  a  subterranean  life.  It  inhabits  the  northern  hemisphere  both  in  the  old  and  in  the  new  world,  not  a  single  species  of  mole being  found  south  of  the  equator.  Its  dwelling  or  fortress  is  usually  formed under  a  hillock,  and  in  its  construction  the  mole  displays  considerable ingenuity  and  engineering  skill.

       Moles  are  exceedingly  voracious  animals,  and  though  living  chiefly  on  worms and  grubs, will,  if  they  get  the  opportunity,  kill  and  devour  mice,  small  birds, lizards,  and  frogs.  The  mole,  in  such  cases,  hurls  itself  on  its  victim  as  if frenzied  with  rage,  and  grasps  it  with  the  ferocity  and  tenacity  of  a  bull-dog. The  mole  is  also  a  very  thirsty  creature,  and  usually  makes  a  run  to  the nearest  ditch  or  pond,  or  supplies  itself  with  water  by  sinking  a perpendicular shaft.

       The  mole,  though  he  sometimes  condescends  to  make  use  of  a  common passage,  is  far  from  being  a  sociable  animal,  and  has  always  his  own  nest  or fortress,  where  in  the  spring  he  brings  his  bride.  He  seems,  however,  to  be possessed  of  strong  family  affection.  Most commonly  in  April  the  young appear.  They  number  usually  four  or  five,  and  are  most assiduously attended  to  by  their  parents,  who  see  to  it  that  the  nest  is  softly  lined  with grass  and  fine  roots.

Required for Observation: A picture and/or video of a mole.

• The Mole and The Earthworm by Filmbilder & Friends

Method of Student Observation:

• Elicit  that  the  form  of  the mole's  body  is  peculiarly  adapted  to a  subterranean  existence  ;  elicit  also the  use  of  the  short,  thick  fur  in keeping  out  particles  of  earth.
• Compare  the  limbs  of  the  mole with  our  own  ;  also  with  those  of  the bat.  Why  are  the  fore -limbs  so much  stronger  than  the  hind  ones ?
• Elicit  the  adaptation  of  the pointed  snout ;  the  reason  why  the eyes  and  ears  should  be  so  closely protected  by  fur  ;  and  the  advantage of  the  absence  of  external  appendages to  the  ears.
• Compare  the  teeth  with  those  of other  well-known  animals.
• Show  a  diagram  of  the  mole's nest,  with  its  radiating  system  of tunnels.Elicit  the  various  points  in which  the  mole  is  adapted  to  its  habit  of  burrowing,  and  especially the  reason  why  the  palm  of  the  hand is  directed  backwards.
• Compare  the  habits  of  the  mole with  those  of  the  bat,  especially  with regard  to  their  food  and  their  natural aversion  to  light.
• Note  that  the  mole  devours  the farmer's  enemies ‚ worms  and  grubs, but  that  it  also  disfigures  the  land by  casting  up  its  ''hills.''
• Note  that  the  position  of  the mole  in  the  animal  scale  is  very  near that  of  the  bat.  Both  are  mammals exhibiting  a  considerable  degree  of development.
  

How to Grade Study Notes For Student Journals: Every student will need a journal to write in weekly for this online nature study series. Teacher will assign the weekly content in advance.

• Make sure the facts are: written in complete sentences, the first word of each sentence capitalized, and a period should be included at the end of each sentence.
• Spell check your vocabulary and write the words correctly.
• Dress up your journal entries with student clip art, drawings of your own in color or in black and white.
• Student may also include photographs of their own taking for extra credit.

Look for the following facts about moles inside of student journals. Assign a point value to the quality of the content.

• Body. - Long  and  narrow ‚ cylindrical  in  form.  Covered  with  a very  closely-set,  velvety fur.  Terminates  in  a  short  tail.
• Limbs. - Four in number.  Short, strong,  and  terminating  in  distinct toes  with  strong  claws.  Fore-limbs especially  strong,  with  the  palm  of the  hand  directed  backwards.
• Head. - Provided  with  a  long, tapering  snout.
• Eyes  closely  surrounded  by  the thickly-set  fur.
• Ears  without  external  appendages, and  closely  covered  with  fur.
• Teeth  pointed.  No  broad  masticating  teeth.
• Home. - The  home  of  the  mole is  the  soil,  where  it  burrows  its  way in  search  of  food.  It  constructs  a couple  of  circular  galleries  round  a central  chamber,  and  from  these  it makes  a  series  of  burrows  or  runs  in all  directions.
• Burrowing. - The  work  of  burrowing  is  performed  mainly  by  the strong  forepaws,  the  soil  being shovelled  backwards  as  the  work proceeds.  The  sharp  snout  assists the  creature  in  pushing  its  way through  the  soil.  The  soil  is  thrown to  the  surface  at  intervals,  forming little  heaps  called  mole-hills.
• Food.  - The  food  consists  of worms  and  grubs.  These  are  caught by  means  of  the  pointed  teeth,  and generally  swallowed  whole.
• When  the  soil  is  dry,  and  the worms  burrow  deeply,  the  mole  also burrows  deeper ;  but  the  excavations of  the  mole  are  generally  very  near the  surface.
• Young. - The  young  of  the  mole are  produced  alive,  and  are  nourished by  the  milk  of  the  mother.  Hence, like  the  bat,  the  mole  is  classed among  the  mammals.

Video at Youtube for Students to Watch:

1. How Hard Do Mole Dig? by The New York Times
2. The weird and wonderful star-nosed mole by BBC Earth
3. How to feed and raise a baby mole by The Dodo

The Mole Anchor Chart and Classroom Discussion: Direct discussions, develop vocabulary and demonstrate correct sentence writing. Anchor charts are used in many different grades the following example below may be used in 2nd through 4th grade during a group discussion.

1. The  mole  has  a  pointed  snout.
2. Its  body  is  covered  with  soft  fur.
3. The  soft  fur  hides  its  small  eyes.
4. The  mole  has  a  pointed  snout  and  its  body  is  covered  with soft  fur  which  hides  its  small  eyes.
5. The  mole's  legs  are  very  short. The  fore-feet  of  the  mole  are  like  little  hands.
6. Its  claws  are  like  fingers  with  long  nails.
7. The  fore-feet  of  the  mole  are  like  little  hands  and  its  claws are  like  fingers  with  long  nails.
8. The  mole  can  burrow  or  scratch  its  way  under  the  ground.
9. It  finds  worms  for  food.
10. The  mole  can  burrow  or  scratch  its  way  under  the  ground, where  it  finds  worms  for  food.
11. The  long  narrow  body  and  the  pointed  snout,  as  well  as  the strong  claws,  help  the  mole  to  burrow  under  the  ground, where  it  can  catch  worms.

A Paper Mole in The Hole Craft: To make this project you will need: 1 paper plate, a 1/4 cup of rice, green construction paper, parts of a recycled paper egg carton, white school glue, acrylic paints (brown, grey, pink flesh), one cotton ball, one chenille stem and scrap paper.

The finished mole in a hole art collage.

Step-by-Step Directions:

1. Cut a nose shape from a recycled egg carton and glue this to the center of a paper plate.
2. Then puddle white school glue around this cardboard ''nose'' and sprinkle rice in the glue. Let this dry overnight.
3. Shred multiple shades of green and yellow paper to paste around the rice. Let dry.
4. Paint the rice with brown acrylics and paint the nose piece with grey acrylic.
5. Shred the cotton ball and glue it to the tip of the mole's nose. After it drys paint it pink.
6. Cut pink paws from paper and glue these into the dirt (rice).
7. Cut a chenille stem in half, twist shredded cotton about it with white glue in order to give it a smooth wormy surface. paint is pink and poke a hole under the mole's nose for a mouth to insert the worm inside of.

Left, the beginnings of our mole collage. The nose glued in place, the rice glued down,
 surrounding the mole's nose and the grass clippings added around the brim of
the plate. Right, the rice is painted brown to resemble dirt.

 

Free Student Clip Art: Clip art may be printed from a home computer, a classroom computer or from a computer at a library and/or a local printing service provider. This may be done from multiple locations as needed because our education blog is online and available to the general public.

1,  Mole ;  2,  Set  of  fur  in  Mole ;  3,  Set  of  fur  in  ordinary  animals ;
  4,  Skull  of  Mole ;5,  Teeth  of  Mole ;  6,  Fore-foot  of  Mole, 
outer  surface ;  7,  Fore-foot  of  Mole,  under
surface ;  8,  Section  of  Mole's  dwelling.

The Mole

The Mole by Edith King

The burrowing mole lives under the ground
Day in and day out, all the changing year round;
Like a train in a tunnel, in darkness he goes,
And makes his own track with his feet and his nose.

He lives upon worms as content as can be
For breakfast and supper, for dinner and tea,
Yes, just as they are, as a matter of course,
He gobbles them up, without cooking or sauce.

If you lived where he does, in a very short time
I fear you'd be covered completely with grime;
But though he works hard all day long for his meat
And has but one coat, he is perfectly neat.

It's not very often he visits the light,
Except when he's angry and anxious to fight;
Then he and his enemy leave their dark holes,
And in warfare there's nothing more savage than moles.

Their virtues are great, but their tempers are bad,
Biting and scratching, they scuffle like mad,
And over and over they roll in the ditch,
Until it's a puzzle to see which is which. 

But if they discover you watching the fray,
They leave off at once to get out of the way,
And burrow so quickly, scarce making a sound,
That before you count ten they're gone into the ground.