Run Down Mole

[Groverdog 0]

Coming home from work today i seen a dead mole at the side road. 34 years old and never seen one in real life. Like a wee bean bag.I know they do alot of damage but have admit i thpught it was quite a bonny thing. It was about 5" long. Seen plenty molehills and been out with a trapper (never caught anything) Think it was either run down (not much damage to it) or it died naturally. Why would it have been out of the ground?

[Ricky-N.p.p 0]

they come above ground at certain times of year to mate, then they go back to a solitary life killing and eating each other when ever they meet !

 

fascinating little buggers !

[skycat 6,172]

Young male moles seeking a territory for themselves travel over ground, so its about the right time of year to find a few on top.

[Guest little_lloyd]

Your not alone Never seena mole apart from one i seen dead on a lawn.

[ferret15 0]

i found one on the tow path along side the canal there is a twenty foot high bank with a train track on one side with a drainage ditch full of stagnant water at the bottom and the canal on the other Ive never seen a mole hill here so i can only conclude something (maybe a red kite) drooped it as if flew over ?

dose this sound feasible to anyone else if not how did it get there?

[Guest Ditch_Shitter]

Rick may well have it there! I've certainly noticed how moles tend to be found, unaccountably dead in the most obscure locations around the later end of the summer months. Never have stopped to try and work out why though.

 

Maybe it's true that trying to get on top of a female mole, inside a tube way made for one, proves just too much for them? Maybe their lust just overcomes their instinct for personal self preservation and they starve themselves to eventual death in the effort? ~ Though that hardly makes a world of sense to me.

 

One thing I will say though: Ever spot one doing the four minute mile above ground? Leave well alone! They strike like snakes and bite like bad ferrets Personal experiance.

 

 

Now maybe Moley or Chalkwarren could add something to this discussion?

[Tallyho 181]

As you are aware we have been flooded in tewkesbury and two days ago an otter got ran over, which is a great shame

[talpa 55]

Coming home from work today i seen a dead mole at the side road. 34 years old and never seen one in real life. Like a wee bean bag.I know they do alot of damage but have admit i thpught it was quite a bonny thing. It was about 5" long. Seen plenty molehills and been out with a trapper (never caught anything) Think it was either run down (not much damage to it) or it died naturally. Why would it have been out of the ground?

 

As has already been said, at this time of year young moles both male and female are being pushed out of the maternal territory, so that they can all get on with their solitary existence. The quickest way to move away is over the surface so that the burrows are not connected, so avoiding any fiture conflict, they are no holds barred fighters, often to the death and the noise they make in the process should be used for horror films. Moles will travel over the surface looking for Luv. too, supposedly only mating and having one litter a year, which I think now is being reassessed by researchers, again this is a time when speed and efficiency of movement is a priority so they go overland.

Whilst underground they are safe from predators for 95% of the time except when they form a hill when they can be taken by Fox, Badger, Cats and Dogs too can learn to catch when a hill moves if you and the dog have plenty of patience and can afford o wait to solve the problem (and owners don't mind lawn or pasture taking on the appearance of a moonscape when the dog misses and starts to dig out of frustration). Weasels are reported to hunt underground and may bring one to the surface and be spooked and dropped it, as might an owl or other bird of prey, there is a picture I have seen where a Sea Gull had swallowed a mole live and it had gug itself out of the birds crop killing it.

Also they are devils to keep a grip of too.

Depending on where you are, if all the ground has been under water it will have killed off all the invertibrate soil fauna even Worms , Leather jackets and Beetle larvae drown, therefore forcing the mole to find new territories and move in the easiest and quickest way on the surface. Moles swim very well, I have trapped moles on one side of deep ditches and stopped the problem on both sides.

Talpa

[Simoman 110]

I knew a cat at an agricutural college who used to regularly catch moles. Used to wait for them to surface before killing them, never ate them though!!

[mole trapper 1,646]

LL and Groover dog, brought a smile to my face when you both mentioned never seeing a mole, if i had an extra quid for every mole job i have been to where the customer has said "oh it,s a shame i love moles" then questioned they say oh i have never seen one, then they see my traps and say OH you only catch the baby ones then?. What do you mean says i, already knowing the answer, well they say i have seen them on the telly and they look to be about the size of a big rabbit.

[Guest The Big Fish]

I've certainly noticed how moles tend to be found, unaccountably dead in the most obscure locations around the later end of the summer months. Never have stopped to try and work out why though.

 

Sounds very foxy to me

[Groverdog 0]

Mole trapper - have to admit i thoutht the same aye that they were alot larger Stopped because i thought it was a bat!!! After i turned it over i did think awww a baby mole!

 

As for all these horror stories of canabilism and screaming and biting - well shocked i am and thanks for enlightening me dont think they are so bloody cute now.

[FPO 0]

They make wonderful compost for the runner bean row! Best year for beans last year! I was shocked when I first saw their teeth, but when you think about it, Worms arent exactly the most melt in the mouth so guess they need the Chompers nice and sharp, And as DS said boy o boy can they move when they are above ground.!