Another Record of the Hairy-tailed Mole 
in the Ottawa District 
Mark Gawn 
For some reason, moles and shrews die inexplicable deaths, 
leaving their enigmatic corpses on the roadside for naturalists 
to ponder over. Thus, it was no surprise when Stephen Gawn and 
I, while conducting a fall bird count on August 31, 1986, 
discovered a dead mole in the middle of the sandy track. 
The surprise came when we examined the fresh corpse more 
closely. The mole had the short, luxuriant pelt and short 
flipper-like feet typical of the familiar Star-nosed Mole (con- 
dylura cristata ). However, it lacked the fleshy protuberances 
which fringe that beast's snout, giving it both its peculiar 
appearance and name. The shrew-like, pointed nose, and short, 
hairy tail identified our specimen as a hairy-tailed Mole (Para- 
scalops breweri ), something that neither of us had ever seen 
before. 
Upon our return, T consulted what references I have and 
discovered that our sighting, a few kilometres north of Thurso, 
in Papineau County, Quebec, (map reference 31G/11 VF805550) was 
at the northern edge of this mammal's range. Nonetheless, I 
thought little of it, assuming it to be yet another example of a 
common species that had heretofore escaped my notice. 
Thus, it was with some interest that I read of Daniel F. 
Brunton's recent note (Trail & Landscape 21(1): 15-17 (1987)) of 
the scarcity of records for this species in the Ottawa District. 
Our sighting, made in abandoned farmland in a sandy valley 
floor, seems to be in appropriate habitat. Along with Brunton's 
record, it indicates that the Hairy-tailed Mole is more widely 
present than is currently known. 
Had it not been for the article by Brunton, I would never 
have thought to submit this note, and the record would have been 
lost - until some brave soul attempts to decipher my scrawled 
field notes! This experience highlights both the need for notes 
like Brunton's in journals such as Trail & Landscape, and the 
need for all naturalists to keep accurate accounts of interest¬ 
ing observations. Unfortunately, we did not think to keep the 
specimen, and upon our return an hour later, insects had already 
started the process that would eventually return the mole to the 
soil, n 
87 
