Star-nosed mole

Star-nosed moles tunnel in wet soil and swim well, hunting both underground and under water. The star on the nose is a touch organ: its 22 rays are covered in thousands of tiny sensory structures, and the mole sweeps it across the ground many times a second to "feel" its surroundings.

They are among the fastest-eating mammals known, able to find, identify and swallow a small food item in a fraction of a second. Under water, they can smell by blowing bubbles onto objects and sniffing them back in.

The star-nosed mole has taught scientists a great deal about the sense of touch. Its star is the most sensitive touch organ found in any mammal, and studies of how its brain handles the information have been used to understand touch in other animals, including people.

It also depends on wetlands, and where wet meadows and stream banks are drained, it disappears.

Mating — late winter and early spring
Gestation — about 45 days
Birth — April to June, one litter a year of usually two to seven young
Leaving the nest — at about four weeks old
Independence — by summer
Lifespan — a few years

• Draining wet ground and straightening streams removes their habitat.
• Cats catch moles near streams.
• A star-nosed mole found on the surface is best left near wet ground where it was found.

• The star is for smelling. It is for touch.
• Moles cannot swim. Star-nosed moles swim and hunt under water.
• An animal this strange must be rare everywhere. It is common in parts of the Northeast, though very rare in Georgia.

• Eastern mole
• Hairy-tailed mole
• Northern short-tailed shrew