The shrew is a fairly small animal belonging to the shrew family. This insectivore lives on almost all continents (except the northern ones), preferring to choose forest zones and tundra as its habitat. It is among the shrews that one can find the smallest and most voracious mammals - there are about 7 dozen species in this genus - almost two dozen of them live in Russia.
Description of the shrew
Externally, shrews resemble mice. The length of their elongated body is 6-8 cm, weight is about 8-15 g, the tail is relatively long from 3 to 5 cm. The head is a cone-shaped head, ending with a thin long movable proboscis, the teeth are brown or reddish. On the sides and back the fur is thick, velvety, brownish or dark brown in color, the belly is light gray. The ears look like small flaps that protrude slightly above the fur.
External characteristics
There are many species in the shrew genus, more precisely, about 130. The differences between the animals lie in size and habitat. Well, some slight variations on the theme of color. A characteristic feature of the animal is its long body parts, namely the tail and muzzle.
Body length 5-10 cm, tail – 3-8 cm, weight 2.5-15 g. The fur cover is short-haired, from dark gray to brownish. The bellies of almost all species are light. The tail is slightly hairy, with short pile, except for the flat-skull variety, in which it is quite fluffy.
The tips of the animal's teeth are red-brown. This became the determining factor in the name. But with age, the tops of the teeth wear off, and nothing remains of the unusual color. The small ears on the head are almost invisible from under the fur. The beads of the tiny, round eyes are black. But in general, the shrew’s eyesight is weak (due to its underground existence), so the main organ in search of food becomes the nose, whose powerful sense of smell perfectly captures odors. The shrew is also quite good at echolocation.
Shrews of this species are one of the oldest creatures on the planet belonging to vertebrate mammals. Their jaws are clearly divided into canine, incisor, molar and anterior teeth. The shrew leaves behind a small chain of paired tracks. On the soft snow cover, a clearly defined path is visible from the tail.
Nature has rewarded the rodent with a bright musky smell. Therefore, even after catching an animal, many predators do not eat it.
Feeding characteristics of shrews
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Shrews are carnivorous mammals. They spend almost all their time searching for food. They cannot live even three hours without food. This is due to intense metabolism and rapid digestion of food.
The shrew's diet includes earthworms, insect larvae and pupae, butterflies, and dragonflies. In addition, it also hunts animals such as mouse-like rodents and frogs. In winter, the food is monotonous, since under the snow in the unfrozen soil layer the shrew can only find wintering insects. Once in cellars and pantries, the shrew never touches food supplies; it only looks for insects.
Plant food can serve as a supplement to the shrew's main diet, especially in winter, for example, seeds of spruce and pine cones, linden nuts.
What does it eat?
In searching for food, the shrew is helped by a highly developed sense of smell and very sensitive hearing (even with the use of echolocation). The basis of her diet is animal food - this is understandable, because such proteins are the most high-calorie. The shrew feeds on everything it can catch with its needle-sharp teeth. Moreover, the amount of food that a shrew consumes per day can be several times greater than the entire animal itself.
A shrew (for example, its species is the tiny shrew) can feed an insane number of times throughout the day - more than a hundred - while eating every half hour.
Shrew distribution
The shrew is found throughout Eurasia from the shores of the Pacific to the Atlantic Ocean, south to Palestine and to Siberia in the north.
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The animal lives in various areas, but always in damp and shady areas. Lives in forests, parks, meadows. In cold seasons, it enters populated areas and hides in storerooms and cellars.
Habitat
Giant shrews prefer to settle in wooded areas filled with coniferous and broad-leaved trees. Such animals dig holes on slopes that are in close proximity to water sources. In particular, these animals build their homes in river valleys. In general, shrews try to stick to damp, but not swampy areas.
Currently, the most numerous populations are observed in the southern part of Primorsky Krai. Giant shrews are found in areas located between the valleys of the Kamenka and Serebryanka rivers. Outside the domestic latitudes, representatives of the species were repeatedly caught in China and Korea.
Common types of shrews
- Common shrew or common shrew or wood shrew (Sorex araneus)
Body length 55-82 mm, weight from 4 to 16 g. Tail 60-75 mm long.
The body is dark brown on top, almost black-brown, the abdomen is light. The young are light brown. The tail is bare or slightly pubescent. The ears are almost invisible. The muzzle is narrow, elongated. The species is distributed in northern Europe in dense grassy thickets, forest undergrowth, bush thickets, and heather heaths.
- Tiny shrew or Chersky's shrew (Sorex minutissimus)
The smallest species with a body length of 4-5 cm, a tail length of 2.5-3 cm. Weight is about 4 g. The head is wide and large, ending with a short proboscis.
The eyes and ears are small. The fur is short, velvety, dark brown or brown on the back and gray or silvery-white on the belly. The tail is also dark above and light below. The species is found in the west from the Scandinavian Peninsula to Japan and Sakhalin in the east.
- Tibetan shrew (Sorex thibetanus)
The body length is 51-64 mm, the tail is 32-54 mm long. Outwardly similar to an ordinary shrew.
The species was discovered in China, in the provinces of Qinghai, Sichuan and Gansu.
- Bukhara shrew (Sorex buchariensis)
Body length 55-69 mm. The tail is 42-50 mm long with a tassel at the tip. The back is painted sandy brown or light brown. The belly is light gray. The head is elongated and narrow.
The species' habitat includes Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan, where it lives in high-mountain birch and poplar forests.
- Medium shrew (Sorex caecutiens)
Body length is from 58 to 77 mm, tail length is 36-42 mm, weight is 4-8.5 g. The back and sides are brown to dark gray, the belly is grayish-white.
Distributed from Finland, northern Sweden and Norway to the Anadyr River basin. Also found on Sakhalin (Russia) and Hokkaido (Japan), in Korea.
- Gansu shrew (Sorex cansulus)
Body length 62-64 mm, tail 38-43 mm long. The back is grayish-brown, the belly is reddish-fawn. The tail is dark brown above, light below.
A rare species that lives in the south of the Chinese province of Gansu.
Large-toothed shrew or dark-toothed shrew or dark-toothed shrew or dark-toothed shrew or large-toothed shrew (Sorex daphaenodon)
Body length is 61-71 mm, weight reaches 9.5 g. The proboscis is short. The back is dark brown or black, the sides are light, and the belly is dark gray. The tail is brown.
Distributed from the Urals to Sakhalin.
- Giant shrew (Sorex mirabilis)
One of the largest species with a body length of up to 10 cm and a weight of about 14 g. The body is brownish-brown in color, the belly is lighter and dull.
Muzzle with long light gray whiskers. Endemic to the Far East, where it lives in the south of the Primorsky Territory, northeast China and the north of the Korean Peninsula. Listed in the Red Book of Russia.
- Equal-toothed shrew (Sorex isodon)
Body size is average. The fur color is dark, monochromatic, the fifth upper intermediate tooth is brightly pigmented.
It is found in the taiga of Eurasia from the Scandinavian Peninsula and Belarus to the Pacific coast. Included in the Red Books of the Republic of Karelia and the Moscow Region.
- Kozlov's shrew or Tibetan mountain shrew (Sorex kozlovi)
Body length is about 41 mm, tail length up to 33 mm. Summer fur is long, fluffy, silky. The tail is pubescent with a tassel at the tip. The back is chocolate-brown in color, the sides are light, the belly is white with a fawn coating.
A rare species, was discovered in Tibet.
- Little shrew or small shrew or little shrew (Sorex minutus)
Body length 43-64 mm, tail length 31-46 mm.
Weight from 2.5 to 7.5 g. The back is brown-gray or reddish-coffee. The belly is grayish-white, rarely yellowish-fawn. Winter fur is darker. The hair on the tail is thick and long. The proboscis is sharp, elongated. Distributed in Europe, the European part of Russia, in the west and south of Siberia, in Kyrgyzstan.
- Clawed shrew (Sorex unguiculatus)
Outwardly it resembles a common shrew.
Body weight reaches 20 g, body length 54-97 mm, tail length 40-53 mm. Lives in China, Japan, Russia.
- Kamchatka shrew (Sorex camtschatica)
Body length is about 57 mm, tail 54 mm long.
Weight about 5 g. The back is earthy-gray, the sides are light, brown or fawn. The belly is light gray. The hind foot is very elongated. The species is distributed in the northeast of Siberia, in Kamchatka.
- Masked shrew (Sorex cinereus)
The body length reaches 9 cm, including 4 cm of tail length, weight up to 5 g. The fur is gray-brown on top, light gray below, the muzzle is pointed. The tail is brown above, lighter below, and the tip is dark.
Found in Canada and the USA.
- Long-tailed shrew (Sorex dispar)
The medium-sized shrew is gray in color with a light belly, a pointed muzzle and a long tail.
It lives in North America, in the forests of Canada and the USA.
- Little shrew (Sorex hoyi)
Body length is up to 5 cm, tail is about 2 cm, weight is 2-2.5 g. The fur is gray-brown or red-brown, the belly is light.
In winter, the fur turns gray. This is the smallest mammal in North America, lives in Canada and the USA, in coniferous and deciduous forests.
- Paramushir or Beringian shrew (Sorex leucogaster)
Outwardly it resembles an ordinary shrew.
It is endemic to Paramushir Island (Kuril Islands).
- Marsh shrew or water shrew (Sorex palustris)
Body length up to 15 cm, tail length about 8 cm, weight up to 13 g. The back is dark gray, the belly is light.
Found in Canada and the USA.
Notes
- Sokolov V. E.
Five-language dictionary of animal names. Mammals. Latin, Russian, English, German, French. / under the general editorship of academician. V. E. Sokolova. - M.: Rus. lang., 1984. - P. 39. - 10,000 copies. - Hutterer, Rainer
. Soricomorpha. // Wilson, Don E., and Reeder, DeeAnn M. ed. Mammal Species of the World (3rd ed.). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2 vols. (2142 pp.). pp. 285-286. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494. - Won, Byeong-o (원병오).
한국의 포유동물 (Hangugui poyudongmul, Mammals of Korea). - Seoul: Dongbang Media, 2004. - ISBN 89-8457-310-8. - Andrew T. Smith, Yan Xie (eds.)
A Guide to the Mammals of China. Princeton. 2008. 544 p. - ↑ 1 2 Hutterer, Rainer
. Soricomorpha. // Wilson, Don E., and Reeder, DeeAnn M. ed. Mammal Species of the World (3rd ed.). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2 vols. (2142 pp.). pp. 285-286. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494. - Sokolov V.E., Orlov V.N.,
Key to mammals of the Mongolian People's Republic M.: Science. 1980. 351 p. - A. Bekenov, P.M.
Butovsky, B.B. Kasabekov et al. Mammals of Kazakhstan. T. 4. Insectivores and bats. Alma-Ata: Science. 279 p.
Shrew behavior
Shrews are very energetic animals and are nocturnal. During the day they search for food only near shelters. They hunt on the ground, sometimes climbing out onto low-growing grasses and shrubs. They move very quickly, jump 10-15 cm. They do not hibernate, and in winter they continue to actively search for food. At this time they live in deep drifts.
How to detect the presence of a shrew
Burrows and passages of the shrew The first signs of the appearance of a shrew - dug "underground tunnels" and piles of dug up earth - gardeners can confuse with moles or dug-out mice-voles. Each animal has its own area of up to 30-50 square meters. m and lives alone, not allowing neighbors into its territory. If there is a greenhouse on the site, then the shrew will definitely visit it, getting inside through underground passages. To make sure that it is shrews that have settled on the site, you need to see them, but this is very difficult to do because of their size. Their burrows are very small, and their nests are either in holes or in old trees. The bottom of them is lined with grass and leaves for insulation. Burrows and underground labyrinths have a smaller diameter compared to mole tunnels.
Reproduction of shrews
Shrews build nests in the top layer of soil, stumps or old burrows of other species from dry parts of herbaceous plants, and line them with moss on the inside.
The breeding season begins at the end of March and continues throughout the warm season. Females produce 2-3 broods, 7-8 babies in each. Pregnancy lasts 18-28 days. Shrews are born helpless, naked, blind, but they grow quickly and already at the age of 1 month they feed like adults.
Life expectancy is about 1.5 years.
Ways to deal with shrews
The chemical method of combating shrews is the most effective, but it must be used with great caution, since the use of poison can ultimately result in tragedy. Children, pets and other mammals can suffer from poisoning, so before using chemicals, you need to carefully weigh the pros and cons of using this method
If you do decide to use poison, it is important to take maximum precautions so that no one is accidentally harmed. To get rid of shrews, a rodent attractant is suitable, for example, Hunter Anti-Rodent, which is produced in the form of a briquette and contains cheese, flour and a powerful poison that causes suffocation in small animals
To get rid of shrews, a rodent attractant is suitable, for example, Hunter Anti-Rodent, which is produced in the form of a briquette and contains cheese, flour and a powerful poison that causes suffocation in small animals
To get rid of shrews, a rodent attractant, such as Hunter Anti-Rodent,
", which is produced in the form of a briquette and contains cheese, flour and a powerful poison that causes suffocation in small animals.
Another poisonous substance in the form of a thick substance is called “ Nutcracker”
" This poison “works” effectively against shrews and other rodents.
Chemical name " Rat Death"
“speaks for itself, since it is a potent poison that causes not only suffocation in rodents, but also internal bleeding, so it should be used only in emergency cases, while trying not to put the health of surrounding people and pets at risk.
Various types of repellers are more humane, but less effective. For example, through the use of ultrasound. Some devices of this type are capable of repelling rodents at a distance of up to one kilometer.
There is a special device “ Tornado OZV 01”
", which is tuned to a certain vibration frequency, which is reproduced every few seconds, thereby allowing you to rid the area of moles, mice and even harmful mole crickets.
It has long been noted that shrews, moles and mole rats do not accept intense odors, so it is useful to plant plants such as mint and lemon balm on the site. Imperial hazel grouse, marigolds and parsnips are good at repelling rodents.
Natural enemies of shrews
Many predators hunt shrews, but they do not always eat them, and often throw them away after being caught. This is due to the fact that the animal has specific glands that secrete a liquid with an unpleasant odor, which repels predators. The main natural enemy of the shrew is the owl.
Literature
- Dolgov V.A.
Old World shrews. M.: ed. Moscow State University, 1985. 220 p. - Terrestrial mammals of the Far East (key). M.: Nauka, 1984. 358 p.
- Nesterenko V.A.
Insectivores of the south of the Far East and their communities. Vladivostok: Dalnauka, 172 p. - Pavlinov I.Ya.
(ed.) Mammals. Large encyclopedic dictionary. M.: AST. 1999. P. 36. - Yudin B.S.
Insectivorous mammals of Siberia (2nd ed.). Novosibirsk: Nauka, 1989. 360 p.
Benefits and harms
Perhaps someone will consider the shrew to be a worthless animal, but in reality this is not the case. For humans, this animal can be very useful. Looking for food, shrews loosen the soil in gardens and vegetable gardens, which they do very well thanks to their unique trunk nose.
During the so-called “plowing” the soil is saturated with oxygen and at the same time cleared of harmful insects and larvae. But if you are used to seeing beautiful lawns, then, of course, the shrew will cause you a lot of trouble because of the constant minks that you will encounter on the site.
Shrews are incredibly useful creatures because they can reach many harmful insects in places that other insectivores and birds cannot reach. It is not difficult for them to find pests under stones, under snow and in the depths of burrows.
When you first meet these animals, they seem to be quite cute and fluffy creatures that are not capable of harming humans. However, if you try to catch this animal, they may bite, and the person may experience severe pain. Therefore, if you suddenly meet a shrew on your site, then forget about catching it or picking it up.
