Silver Mole

[J Darcy 5,871]

A mate of mine caught a silver mole in one of two double catches off one field this morning. The chances of that must be pretty darned slim...

Here are a couple of pics.

[Phil Lloyd 10,736]

Your pal is a lucky fellah,...

I've never caught an unusually coloured mole,.and I'm trapping most days. I've always wondered how I might feel as I lifted a trap out with an Orange mole,.or,.an Albino

 

I bet it would be,.EMOTIONAL...

 

[trappa 517]

Ive never ever caught an unusual coloured mole. I trap feckin loads too so you would think the law of averages would give me a good chance. I must catch between 50 and 150 every week and have every winter for years but still nothing.

[J Darcy 5,871]

I will tell him to get a lottery ticket on this week. The fact that it came out of a 'double' catch must up the odds even more. That was the very first time the trap had been in the ground, no 'weathering' just in straight out of the box, with a few tweeks, so I'm told...

Good Hunting fella's. JD

[Steve Albano 21]

Here's the only completely orange mole we've caught, after about 17 years in the business with a few full time techs doing mole control, so we're talking one out of many tens of thousands of moles caught over that time period. We get moles with little orange streaks on them maybe once or twice a year.

 

Edited March 10, 2011 by Steve Albano

[Hannah4181 260]

wow! what a guy he must be. :notworthy:

[Steve Albano 21]

And here is an albino and a melanistic(black) gopher, compared to one with normal coloration, both caught on the same day on the same property about 20 yards apart. I had never seen either type in 15 or 16 years in the gopher control business. Have since caught one other albino on the same property.

[Rolfe 2]

I caught 3 apricot coloured moles from the same garden in a week once (one of which i still have set-up for posterity in a glass case).........obviously all part of the same family........i have been back many times since and only ever caught normal coloured moles.

 

I have caught a similar coloured mole to the silver one though.........here it is next to a normal mole, don't really know what colour you would call it but i expect you get regional variations and mutations from time to time.

[Steve Albano 21]

OK, one more picture. This one is not a coloration oddity but still an odd animal. Gophers are rodents, and their teeth grow and are worn down continuously throughout their lifespans. In fact if they live in soft soil and their teeth don't wear naturally by digging, then they have to gnaw on very hard woods to keep their teeth growth in check. In rare cases they fail to keep their teeth growth in check for whatever reason, and we see the results.

 

[Steve Albano 21]

OK, one more.....this is a picture emailed to me from a guy in South Africa that had bought some of our traps. This is a "golden mole", and the orange color is it's normal coloration. What a pretty animal.

 

[dogs-n-natives 1,181]

Nice catch, I have also caught a silver mole, its still in my freezer, but apart from your mates ive never heard about any other silver moles, must be a very rare colour.

 

As well as the silver Ive had 2 pure albino and one ginger. damn I should play the lottery more

[Steve Albano 21]

I've never seen an albino mole, and never even seen a picture of an albino mole. If anyone has pictures, please post.

[JPTfellterrier 65]

OK, one more picture. This one is not a coloration oddity but still an odd animal. Gophers are rodents, and their teeth grow and are worn down continuously throughout their lifespans. In fact if they live in soft soil and their teeth don't wear naturally by digging, then they have to gnaw on very hard woods to keep their teeth growth in check. In rare cases they fail to keep their teeth growth in check for whatever reason, and we see the results.

 

could this be due to alot of inbreeding in the area? I know if rabbits are badly bred somthing very similar happens

[Steve Albano 21]

I don't think it has to do with inbreeding or any thing related to genetics. I think this happens in situations where they just don't have the right types of hard woods available to gnaw on and wear their teeth down. It's known to happen with captive gophers, though this one was wild caught. Same thing happens with beavers, though even worse.

[J Darcy 5,871]

Different angle.