MOLES, SHREWS AND BATS 199 



bank below the water. It can swim and dive 

 excellently, and no doubt adds to its fare of 

 worms and grubs many small creatures and 

 their eggs caught in the water and on the 

 stream-bed. It seems to be more active in win- 

 ter than the others, frequently moving about 

 under the snow or on its surface. 



Moles are hardy, easily tamed and supported 

 on shreds of meat, and exhibit intelligence as 

 well as an ugly temper. When two or more 

 are confined together the murder and eating of 

 the weaker is likely to follow, until one cannibal 

 is left. 



Shrews and their ways. The shrews are 

 relatives of the moles, which do not tunnel, but 

 are so small, secretive and nocturnal, that few 

 persons suspect their presence, although they 

 are numerous and of many sorts all over the 

 country, even very far to the north. Our 

 eastern long-tailed shrew is the smallest known 

 mammal and could curl up in a walnut husk, 

 yet it exists at the Arctic Circle and runs about 

 in the snow of a Canadian winter. They are 

 mouse-like animals, extremely swift and agile 

 in their movements, but instantly separable 



