Shrews

Shrew is the common name for these small mouselike mammals, related to the mole, with a long, pointed snout and soft, gray-brown, velvety fur. Some species are among the smallest of mammals. Most live on the ground, although a few species swim or live in trees. Shrews are active, nocturnal animals that feed primarily on insects and worms but also eat mice equal to their own size, as well as plants and occasionally fish and other aquatic animals. Many species have glands from which a fluid with a disagreeable odor is secreted, and some species have poisonous saliva to immobilize larger prey such as fish, frogs, small mice, and newts. Members of one subfamily of shrews hunt by means of echolocation, although this sense is relatively crude compared to its development in bats.

Shrews are found on all major land areas of the world except the Polar Regions, Australia, New Zealand, Greenland, and Tasmania. More than 240 species of shrews are found in deserts, grasslands, and forests in North and South America, Africa, Europe, and Asia.

In the United States, the most common are the long-tailed shrews and the short-tailed shrews. Long-tailed shrews are slightly less than 3 inches long. The ears are larger than in some other shrews, and the teeth are brown at the tip. Five to seven young are produced in a litter each spring. The short-tailed shrew known as the mole shrew, the most common shrew in the eastern United States, is about 4.5 inches long.