Description and photos of newborn moles
The young mole is perceived much more pleasant than rat pups, little mouse, although it looks like them very much. In the dictionary, the offspring of moles are called in the plural krotyatami, alone - krotenok, molehill. Females are not very fertile; they give only one litter per season. Kids quickly grow up and after 2 months become independent.
Appearance
The photo of the young mole at different stages of maturation is presented below. Outwardly - quite a pretty creature that is not scary to take in hand.
The newborn mole is naked, blind, toothless, completely helpless, weighing about 3 g. Kids have an excellent appetite, they quickly gain weight. A week later, the body is covered with a soft yellow fluff, eyes open. At the age of one month, young offspring are compared in size with adult moles, reach sizes of 16 cm, tail about 4 cm, weight up to 120 g
On a note!
How does a mole mole, depends on the period of maturation. In the first week, the form is not very attractive - a pink body, no hair. After 2 weeks, the animals turn into cute creatures with soft, short fur, small round eyes, large front paws.
Breeding season
Moles lead a hidden lifestyle, most of the time spent underground. Only during the mating period they crawl out of their shelters in search of a partner. Fights for the right to own a female often flare up between males.
The marriage period begins in early spring, lasts 2 months - April, May. The pregnancy of the female lasts 30-45 days. Cubs appear in June, July. Very rarely, the female gives a second offspring per season. In one litter from 3 to 9 mop.
Nutrition
Females are caring mothers who tenderly care for their young. Initially, the small children feed on milk, quickly gain weight, and develop. In about a month, the teeth grow, claws grow, the young go on solid food - grain, seeds, roots, insects, earthworms.
At the age of 1.5-2 months, the young become independent, able to kill a mouse, a frog, and a snake. Grown up young animals behave aggressively towards each other, after 60 days of their existence, each of them starts to build their own burrows with numerous mazes.
Interesting!
During the day, the animal plows with its paws about 45 m of soil. Eats in one day the amount of food equal to its own weight. Constantly in search of food, makes numerous stocks. By the number of bumps with a mound of soil above the ground, you can determine the trajectory of the burrow.
A mole mole feeds several times a day. Food is digested approximately 5 hours. Between the breaks in the meal, the animal sleeps in a special "room" curled up.
Main diet:
- earthworms;
- caterpillars;
- woodlice;
- larvae of the May beetle;
- slugs;
- snails;
- Bears;
- spiders;
- centipedes.
Occasionally they eat vertebrates that are in an inactive state - mice, lizards, snakes, frogs. In a hungry state, the animal can live no more than 17 hours.
Lifespan
In the wild, a mole lives from 2 to 5 years. The period of growing up is only 2 months. Under the ground, the enemies of animals are extremely small, so almost all the young survive. Unlike mice, the female mole gives only one litter per season, the pregnancy lasts 10 days longer. This feature allows females to maintain their own health, the birth of babies does not deprive her of vitality. Life expectancy of females is not different from males. Natural enemies of young and adult moles are cats, dogs, foxes, wolves, hedgehogs.