By nature, male moles are inveterate loners, fiercely exterminating anyone who dares to settle on their territory. The mole begins to seek communication with the female exclusively during the mating season. One way or another, he will not be a good family man: having forced the female into his nest, he lives with her “under the same roof” for several more days, after which the female goes as far as possible from her husband. Having retired to a safe distance, the female bears offspring and builds her own nest. At the same time, as soon as the “father of the family” comes across him, he will happily feast on both his own cubs and the female. Filling the stomach with food is of primary importance for the mole.
What is the name of a female crocodile?
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| Parents | Cub (child) singular | |
| Crocodile | Crocodile | Crocodile |
| Raccoon | The correct word would be a female raccoon, but you can also find the names raccoon or raccoon. | Puppy |
| Eagle | Eagle | Eaglet |
| Male monkey | Monkey | A baby monkey, and colloquially a baby monkey can be called a “monkey.” |
Pregnancy, childbirth and feeding young animals in moles
While most moles bear offspring once a year, some species, in particular the females of Mogera robusta, reproduce faster and bear offspring twice in 12 months. She gives birth to approximately 10-12 cubs per year.
The largest number of pregnant females is recorded in May. Pregnancy lasts on average 37-40 days: cubs are born between May and June. During one pregnancy, a female mole can give birth to 5-6 children. In summer, females are less fertile: one litter will contain no more than 4 individuals.
The cubs are born blind and hairless, about the size of a large bean. At the same time, in their appetites they are in no way inferior to their parents: already in the first month of life, mole cubs reach the size of adults.
As soon as they begin independent life (July-August), the mother forcibly evicts them from the nest. From this moment, their settlement begins in nearby territories.
Females reach sexual maturity after a year (in some species after several months). In this case, adult females mate earlier than young ones. The main signs of an adult, sexually mature female who has given birth to at least 2 offspring: developed mammary glands, bald patches on the abdomen, around the nipples.
What is the name of a baby pigeon?
No matter how trivial and simple it may sound, pigeon chicks are called just that - pigeon chick. In colloquial speech they use “little dove” in the singular and “little doves” in the plural.
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Intensity and duration of the mating season in moles
The time of onset, duration and intensity of the mating season of moles depends both on the quality of life (living conditions, availability of food) and on climatic conditions.
The mating season begins immediately after the snow melts. In the northern regions, the start of the rut occurs in the first third of May: 4-8. In the western and southern regions, rodent breeding begins much earlier: already from April 16-17.
Cold, early spring also affects the nature of the mating season: mating occurs later, which delays the appearance of the cubs and their settlement. During this period, the body of females is weakened, and they more often fall into traps. This allows farmers to quickly and effectively get rid of garden pests.
Moles spend most of their lives underground, which causes partial visual atrophy. Contrary to popular myth, moles are not blind: each species has eyes (it’s just that in some species, for example, moguera, they are covered with skin) that distinguish the degree of illumination and detect the movement of objects. Moles crawl to the surface of the earth infrequently: in search of a new home, food, or to mate.
At night, moles crawl out of their underground homes and go in search of a mate. Most often, in search of other moles, they “ask” for same-sex individuals: as a result of a fight, one of the rivals dies, and the other continues to search for a mate.
Having found a female, the mole, most often by force, drags her into its holes. A separate system of ornate passages in his home is designed precisely to hide the female from the encroachments of rivals. Often the female tries to escape by digging new tunnels from his hiding place. Having caught up with her, the winner returns the female to his home.
Skunk
Most species of skunks live in the same regions that moles live. Therefore, the latter often become prey for the former.
We recommend reading: “Who eats mice?”
Although skunks are omnivores, meat still makes up the majority of their diet. These nocturnal creatures spend the vast majority of their time in their lair, digging tunnels in search of prey.
Basic manufacturing methods
Inventive summer residents have come up with a large number of ways to quickly build devices from improvised and even completely unnecessary things. Among them, there are several simple and quite effective options for combating moles.
Pinwheel made from a plastic bottle
The device looks like a kind of weather vane, which, when exposed to wind, produces a sound that is unpleasant for moles. It can work in any conditions.
To make a windmill, you will need a number of simple steps:
- take a standard 1.5 liter plastic bottle;
- Use sharp scissors to carefully cut off the bottom;
- turn it upside down and draw lines for cuts with a marker.
There are five sections on the bottom. It is necessary to mark the areas from the edge of the circle to the middle parts of each ray. Cut out the selected areas. After this, making a do-it-yourself mole trap from plastic bottles will be almost complete.
In the center you need to punch a hole with smooth edges. Insert a self-tapping screw into the center of the lid and screw it in until it stops.
For a more rigid fixation, it is advisable to use a nut of suitable diameter.
On the neck of the bottle, along the middle line, make two holes for the nail opposite each other. After this, secure the windmill to a pole and stick it into the ground.
Tin repellers
These include simple devices such as a piece of reinforcement with a suspended beer can, for example. Surfaces hitting each other under the influence of gusts of wind will produce loud sounds that are unpleasant for moles. The result of the manufacturing scheme is presented below.
An additional advantage is that metal reinforcement will conduct sound into the ground to a greater depth. As a result, the moles will leave the developed territory.
In the form of an airplane
Instructions on how to make an airplane-shaped mole repeller from a plastic bottle step by step:
- to make the hash brown, a metal pipe of medium diameter is dug into the ground;
- a separate pin will need to be tightly attached to the top of the site;
- make several cuts in the form of blades on the bottle;
- make holes at the bottom of the container with a hot nail;
- Place the bottle on the installed pin.
When exposed to wind, the blades will begin to rotate. The vibrations of the windmill will be directed towards the soil and scare away moles.
From several
To increase efficiency, it is recommended to install several turntables at once. The soil, especially dry soil, quickly muffles sounds. Installing individual elements will provide a much more active effect in repelling moles.
Method No. 5
To make another option, you will need a stick, garden shears and a plastic bottle. Further like this:
- in the walls you need to make wide cuts along the walls;
- they will require 2 additional cuts in a perpendicular direction at the top and bottom;
- after bending individual sections, you will get unique blades;
- the assembled mechanism must be put on the support, after which the device will become ready for action.
Under the influence of wind, parts of the system will begin to rotate. This will create an unpleasant sound that can rid the area of mole settlements.
Method number 6
To make a mole repeller with your own hands from a plastic bottle, you will need an additional plate cut from another bottle. Make 15 cm long slits in a solid bottle. Blades for a propeller of approximately the same size are made from a separate part.
Then they are stuck into the prepared holes to form a fan. You will need to make an additional puncture in the lid for the metal rods. After this, attach the structure to the stick. When rotating, the homemade product will make a peculiar noise to scare off moles.
Natural enemies
Moles don't have many enemies. A specific smell saves them from predators. Sometimes they can still be caught by birds of prey. This happens during spring floods. The animals' enemies are martens, wild boars, badgers, foxes, and raccoon dogs.
The only predator that is the main enemy of the mole is the weasel. She happily sneaks into their passages and catches them. The weasel does not even disdain the musky smell of a mole, which other animals do not like so much.
During the rutting period, the weasel makes a sound that moles always recognize and, sensing danger, run away. Droughts and waterlogging can kill moles. People are also the cause of the death of these animals, as they are capable of killing them either accidentally or intentionally.
Choosing a location for the trap
During the hot season, it is best to catch moles along ditches and streams, as well as on trails used by people and livestock for travel. In such places the soil is not so hot, so moles will be found here most often. During the rainy season, it is best to place mole traps directly on the surface, where the prey will crawl out of the water-filled holes.
Permanent and feeding passages are quite often located in close proximity to each other, forming a complex interweaving between them. In order to determine the type of burrows, do not hesitate to dig up the ground and examine them from the inside. If you find a feeding ground, then be sure that there will be a permanent passage nearby. Remember that setting traps in feeding holes is a waste of time.
Constant moves
Permanent passages most often run a little deeper - at a depth of 14 to 20 centimeters. They can be detected quite simply by molehills - heaps of earth that are thrown to the surface. The passages are distinguished by compacted smooth walls, since moles often move along them. It is the permanent passages that are the most convenient place to install mole traps. Therefore, when going hunting in the forest, look for them first.
Migration and settlement of young moles
Little moles live together at first. Their natural aggression and quarrelsomeness appear later: towards the end of the first, beginning of the second month of life.
During the first few days of relocation, moles move through underground passages one after another: several at a time. Over the summer, enterprising farmers can catch up to 50 individuals with one trap, of which more than 70% will be inexperienced and naive young animals.
The speed of movement of moles through underground passages is up to 5-6 meters per minute, which allows them to quickly settle. In 20 hours, the young move up to 700 m. Moreover, only young individuals move so far; adult moles do not go further than 300-400 m over the next year of life.
When migrating, moles encounter various kinds of obstacles: rivers, streams. They are excellent swimmers: a stream 30 meters long, a mole can swim across in 3 minutes. When swimming, it raises its head high, scooping the water to the sides with its powerful front paws and in front of it with its hind paws. The railway embankment is not an obstacle for the mole either: they easily cross highways, highways and railway tracks.
The only thing moles don't like is wetlands. The main principle by which they choose their migration route is the suitability of the land for digging and a sufficient amount of food (mainly invertebrates) . They usually settle along the edges, forest clearings, and forests. In search of an uninterrupted source of food, they also enter human agricultural holdings. Exterminating moles is counterproductive, because they eat garden pests, thereby preserving the harvest. Of course, countless underground passages can disrupt the root system of plants: in this case, you can scare off moles from the site using homemade devices or ultrasonic repellers.
