Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-05-07
LORE OF THE MOLE.
The Fiercest Animal In the World In Pro-
portion to Its Sine.

me rfercest Animal In the World In Pro-
portion to Its Sine.
"What is the fiercest animal in the world2-
asked STAR writer of zoologist
The mole" he replied. you are surprised.
but such, in my opinion, 10 the fact. People
ordinarily look upon the mole as q sluggish
and harmless creature, spending its lI.e in
cropping blindly underground As usual, the
popular idea is a mistaken one. The mole is
In reality the most ferocious and most active
OF animals. Imagine it magnified to the size
of tiger and you would have q more terrible
beast than the world has yet seen. Though
with defective powers of vision and therefore
incapable Of following its prey by sight il
would be agile beyond conception, springing
thss way and that as 1t went Slong, leaping with
nShtnhg quicknoss upon aay creature which
II met. rending 1t to pieces in a moment. de-
souring the yet warm and bleeding flesh aud
instantly seeking, with hunger Unsuitable, for
q fresh victim.
This creature would, Without hesitation.
devour serpent twenty feet>a length, and so
tremendous ~ould be Its voracity that il would
eat twenty or thirty such snakes in the course
Of a day. With one grasp of its teeth aud
single clutch of its claws il could disc mbowel
an OK, aud, II 1t should happen to enter fold
OF sheep or an Enclosure OF cattle, il would Kill
them all for the mere lust Of slaughter. Let
De the battle! Fear is a feeling which the mole
seems never to entertain. In conflict with an
adversary of its own kind its efforts arc ex-
clusively directed to injuring its opponent,
without regard for its own protection. An ex-
animation of the skeleton of q mole will repay
your trouble, SO wonderful is it's adaptation of
structure TO its manner of life. 1t looks like q
Serltaole machine for digging. and il has sew
eral accessory bones which are not found in
any other living beast, being discovered only
In certain fossil forms.
GIFTED WITH INCREDIBLE ACTIVITY.
''The mole is gifted with incredible activity.
1t pursues the earth worms on which it chiefly
feeds with an energy that is untiring, and,
when it has caught one. il devours the prey
Ike starving tiger, rending it with its power
iui claws and teeth. Occasionally it will cap
ture bird aud tear it to fragments. devouring
eagerly the bleeding flesh. During the latter
part OF Juno Mr.. Mole falls in love. and in his
attachments he is as furious as in all other
phases OF his nature. At that period he cannot
meet another male Of his kind without fight
ing, very often to the death. He constructs a
bridal chamber for his chosen spouse at the in
tersection of two of his tunnels SO that there
Is more than one way of escape for herself and
the young ones in case danger threatens This
Chamber Is partly filled with dried grass for a
couch, and it is always at some distance from
Mr.. Moles dwelling proper.
1.-The subterranean dwelling OF Mr.. Mole is a
wonderful labyrinth. No human being could
very well find his way about in il, supposing
that Its dimensions were sufficiently magnified
to admit his passage through the maze of
tunnels The latter compose a network as
complicated as that Of the sewers Of q metrop-
oils. Ii must not be imagined that the animal
burrows at random. On the contrary il works
on well-defned system, though how it forms
ITS burrows in such admirably straight lines.
always laboring in the blacklist darkness, is a
mystery. The home of the beast is in q hillock
under the 81 eiter OF some tree or bank, SO as
TO be inconspicuous. Here is its center of
operations, from which regular roads lead of
IN different directions to its feeding grounds
II you dig into the bullock you discover Q very
elaborate and wonderful structure.
1.-The central apartment OF the dwelling is q
nearly spherical chamber, around which run
two circular passages, one on a level with the
ceiling and the other at some height above
The upper circle is much smaller than the
lower one. Five short and nearly vertical
passages connect these galleries with each
other. When Mr.. Mole enters his house from
one of the tunnels he has first to get into the
lower gallery, thence to ascend into the upper
gallery and SO descend into the chamber.
However, there is another entrance to the
chamber from below by a passage which dips
downward from the middle of the spherical
room. then curving upward and finally opening
into one of the bigger tunnels or highroads'
Or these bighroads there are seven or eight
loving to the peculiar habits of the mole
comparatively little is known about the animal
and its ways. The use of this labyrinth and
complicated system of tunnels, the latter
usually extending over, or rather under a very
great space Of ground, is in some degree a
mystery. One object of the arrangement is
doubtless that the owner in case Of alarm shall
be able to make his escape. BY the continue,
pressure OF the creatures fur the walls of the
chamber and passages are rendered smooth,
hard and polished, SO that the roof will not
fall In even after the most severe storm The
mole can swim excellenty and il often sinks
wells for the purpose Of obtaining water to
drink. In fact, it possesses most varied ac-
complishments, and consider that in point of
ferocity, activity and voracity it is superior
even to the great cats Of the tropics"