lyo 



The Living Animals of the World 



and one of the most jjrolific, as many as 

 t^yenty-one having been produced at biith. 

 Of all living mammals it is the one most 

 nearly allied to the Marsupials. 



Tee JMoles. 



The Common Mole shows a most perfect 

 ada[itation to its underground mode of life. 

 The general form of the animal is long, 

 cylindrical, and pointed in front, whilst the 

 legs are exceedingly sliort, the foot only 

 in the fore limb projecting from the body. 

 This foot is very broad and spade-like and 

 immensely powerful, its use being to force 

 a way — often with incredible speed — through 

 the soft, yielding soil, and not to supjjort 

 the body, as in running or walking. The 

 hiud feet are weak, but resemble those of 

 its allies the shrews, for instance. The eyes 

 have become reduced to mere vestiges, very 

 difficult to find. The fur has become so 

 altered in stracture that it will lie ecpially 

 smooth whether brushed towards head or tail, 

 so that it should not be damaged when 

 the animal travels backwards in its burrow. 

 External ears have been dispensed wdth. 



Worms form the staple diet of the mole, 

 but besides underground insects of all kinds 

 are greedily devoured. This animal is one of 

 the most voracious feeders, falling ravenously 

 upon its prey. It lias been said with truth 



that so great is the ferocity dis[)layed by the mole that if it could be magnified to the size 



of the lion it would lie one of the most terriljle of living creatures. That a constant supply of 



food is necessary to satiate its enormous 



appetite is shown by the fact that a mole 



will succumb to an abstinence of from 



ten to twelve Iiours. Moles fii^ht among; 



themselves furiously ; and if two are 



confined together, the weaker will be 



attacked and devoured. They take 



readily to the water, and instances of 



moles oliserved in the act of crossing 



streams are numerous. 



It is a curious fact, but the mole 



is unknown in Ireland ; yet it ranges 



from England in the west through Asia 



to Ja[)an. 



Careful oljservation seems to have 



shown that with the common mole 



males are more numerous than females. 



Whether this is true of other species 



remains to be seen. The moles of North 



COBEftO ASLEEr. 



[Croydan. 



All four liniljs .lie used in euaiieEdiui,^ itself when asleep, as in the 

 sloths. In this jiosition the cobe^^o closely resembles, and is mistaken by 

 its enemies for, the fruits of one of the native tieea. It isanocturcal 

 animal. 



FholohijL. ilcllaiuJ, F.Z.S.] 



THKEE BABY HEDQEHOfiS 



[Xorth Fincltki/. 



Young hedgehogs are bom blind and naked. The spines on their firat 

 a] ipearanco are quite soft ; they soon harden, and at the same time the power to 

 Hill the body uji into a ball is acijuired. 



