American Moles. 



13 



elsewhere in the country. They find shelter and dry places for nest- 

 ing under sidewalks (fig. 9), sheds, poultry houses, porches, and even 

 dwellings. From these harbors they run riot over the premises. 



NATURAL ENEMIES AND CHECKS. 



On account of its secluded life the mole is little subject to attacks 

 by the many foes of other small mammals. Its burrow is so small 

 that no formidable enemy except perhaps the weasel or the snake 

 can follow it underground, and as it seldom leaves its passageways 

 there is little chance of its being seen by predatory animals. How- 

 ever, the movement of the soil w^ien a mole is working near the 

 surface may readily be detected by a watchful foe, and it is probable 

 that hungry denizens of the wild secure a morsel of food now and 

 then by springing suddenly upon a disturbed spot of earth and hur- 

 riedly digging out the furry little miner. But there is good evi- 

 dence that moles are distasteful to some animals at least, if not to 

 all, for they are seldom eaten by the domestic cats and dogs that 

 have learned to catch them. The peculiar rank odor of a mole may 

 account for its not being relished. It is quite likely, also, that the 

 dense, soft fur is objectionable to some animals. 



Among birds of prey, the hawks and owls take only a small toll 

 from the mole tribe. An examination of the stomach contents of 

 over 2,000 of these birds disclosed the remains of only 13 moles.^ 

 Five of these had been eaten by the red-tailed hawk, 4 by the red- 

 shouldered hawdi, and 1 each by the broad-winged hawk, the barred 

 owl, the great gray owl, and the screech owl. Of 3,005 skulls of 

 small mammals found in pellets disgorged by the barn owl, only 

 2 were of the mole. 



Occasional or periodic floods which spread over lowlands adjoin- 

 ing streams constitute one of the greatest checks to the inordinate 

 increase of moles. During these inundations large numbers of moles 

 may be found congregating on elevated knolls and ridges or clinging 

 to drift masses lodged against various obstructions. Even though 

 these individuals survive, their young have probably perished, for 

 it is in the breeding season that the freshets commonly occur. It has 

 been noted, too, that heavy rains at this season drown some of the 

 young in the nests. 



TRESPASSERS IN MOLE RUNWAYS. 



The mole is not permitted to enjoy undisputed occupancy of the 

 underground galleries which its industry has constructed. Certain 

 other small mammals, particularly shrews, voles, or meadow mice, 



* Fisher, A. K., Hawks and owls of the United States in their relation to agriculture ; 

 Pull, 3, Div, Ornithology and Mammalogy, U. S. Dept. Agr,, 1893. 



