Wildlife
Moles are industrious diggers and can create 20m of tunnel per day. They leave characteristic mounds of earth on the surface as they excavate their tunnels. Large chambers within the tunnel system are lined with dry grass and used for nesting during periods of rest. Moles feed mainly on earthworms, but they also eat a variety of other invertebrates, as well as snakes and lizards. They inhabit deciduous woodland, grassland and farmland - wherever the soil is deep enough for tunnelling.
Scientific name: Talpa europaea
Rank: Species
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First footage of a mole in its tunnels
The first ever footage of life inside a mole’s tunnel.
Forty years after his award-winning and unique mole photograph, Peter Stafford records the first ever footage of life inside a mole’s tunnels.
Mountains or mole hills?
Is it possible to enjoy a more harmonious relationship with moles?
Is it possible to enjoy a more harmonious relationship with moles?
Species range provided by WWF's Wildfinder.
The Mole can be found in a number of locations including: Asia, Europe, Mediterranean, Russia, United Kingdom, Wales. Find out more about these places and what else lives there.
The following habitats are found across the Mole distribution range. Find out more about these environments, what it takes to live there and what else inhabits them.
Discover what these behaviours are and how different plants and animals use them.
Additional data source: Animal Diversity Web
Least Concern
Population trend: Stable
Year assessed: 2008
Classified by: IUCN 3.1
The European mole (Talpa europaea) is a mammal of the order Soricomorpha. It is also known as the common mole and the northern mole.
This mole lives in an underground tunnel system, which it constantly extends. It uses these tunnels to hunt its prey. Under normal conditions the displaced earth is pushed to the surface, resulting in the characteristic molehills. It feeds mainly on earthworms, but also on insects, centipedes and even mice and shrews. Its saliva contains toxins which paralyze earthworms in particular.
It has a cylindrical body and is around 12 cm (5 inches) long. Females are typically smaller than males. The eyes are small and hidden behind fur, while the ears are just small ridges in the skin. The fur is usually dark grey, but the actual range of colors is larger, as due to the subterranean habits there is no disadvantage in having off-colored fur. European moles with white, light grey, tan, taupe, and black fur have all been reported.[citation needed]
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Oak wood
Farmland
Brownfield land
Beech wood
Wildflower meadow
Parkland
Broadleaf forest
Temperate grassland
Urban
Helpless young
Camouflage
Carnivorous
Burrower
Tactile sense
Maternal care
Nocturnal
Polygynandrous
Chemical communication
Territorial
Viviparous