Nature Study Via Feline

Our resident Bad Boys, Sylvie and Sandy (6 month old red tabby kittens) captured a "friend" today ... and they enjoyed playing with him so much that he died.  Yuck.

NOTICE:  When we found the Bad Boys and their "friend", he had long since expired - so we weren't able to "save" him.  And he received a proper burial after this photo was snapped, much to the dismay of our Bad Boys.

Now really ....
what good homeschool Mom can pass up

an Educational Moment like this ?

Well, probably many.  But not me !!
At least not this time.

Their "friend" was a Mole.  We knew they existed, and have seen their tunnels near the woods, but because they live underground we had never actually seen a mole.  We find Voles all the time which are mouse-sized or smaller, care of the 6 felines who live here, but never before a Mole.

So -- upon further study, we discovered that he was an Eastern Mole.

He was approximately 5" long, and according to our nature guide they can range from 4 1/2" - 6 1/2" in length in our area (and even bigger elsewhere !).  They are solitary creatures who live almost all of their lives under ground.

Look at those fantastic front feet, specifically designed to dig up to 18 feet in a single day (WOW !) ... and to move more than 32x their body weight in soil at a time.  WOW !!

I know .... ewwwwwwwwwww .... gross.  But I couldn't resist .... I might never see one ever again (as I am inclined to live above ground) .... and thought perhaps other's hadn't seen one before either.

Carpe Diem.