Mole

When: All year round

Scientific name: Talpa europaea

Scots name: mowdiewort, modewarp, moudie

Gaelic name: famh, dubh-threabhaiche, dallag

Size: Up to 15cm in length

Where: Molehills can be seen dotting fields and grassland

The Earth Mover - quite a mighty title for such a humble looking creature, but do not doubt the strength and ability of these little mammals! Moles are not exactly common sightings, but the fruits of their labour - molehills - are a widespread feature of agricultural and pastoral land.

Moles spend most of their time burrowing underground, using their large front feet and broad claws for digging tunnels. They are generally only spotted above ground when they have been ousted from their tunnel by a larger animal, or when searching for bedding materials. Their favourite dish is the earthworm - moles need to eat between 50 - 100% of their body weight every day to fuel them through their burrowing frenzies, and so always keep healthy stocks of worms in their larders for consumption over the winter months. The collective noun for a group of moles is a 'labour' - justified when you learn that they can shift up to 18 feet of earth every hour - impressive!

Despite popular rumour, moles are in fact not blind - they have excellent sensory ability, and even have spiky hairs on their short, stumpy tail that can help them to detect the movement of worms and other potential prey in the earth around them. Their long pink snouts and velvet like fur make them a very distinguishable animal, should you be lucky enough to see them in the flesh.

Of course, moles have not always been looked upon fondly - land owners would despair at the appearance of a trail of molehills on an otherwise perfectly manicured lawn, and mole hunting was a lucrative profession to be involved with, if you had the skill to catch the little burrowers! Upon their capture, the moles would be ruthlessly slaughtered, and sometimes displayed on the fence of a mole-hunter's house, to boast their skill. The silky soft skins were then sold to make waistcoats, hats and muffs during the early 20th century. Although moles are still hunted in the UK, thankfully numbers do not seem to have been hit too hard by this pursuit, and the soil churned up by their tunnelling activity is now recognised as an excellent medium in which to pot young plants!

Find out more about moles and their mysterious underground revelry at http://www.mammal.org.uk/discover-mammals/species-mole/

Image: Robert Trevis-Smith