#common shrew

Common Shrew (Sorex araneus)

Family: Soricidae (Shrew Family)

IUCN Conservation Status: Least Concern

One of the most abundant species of shrews, the Common Shrew can be found across most of Europe and northeastern Asia. Found in woodland, grassland and heath habitats, its lifestyle is very heavily influenced by its extremely high metabolism - to remain healthy a single common shrew must eat twice its own body weight in food every day, and if it fails to eat for just 3 hours it will starve. As a result of this, Common Shrews search for food almost constantly, using their sensitive whiskers and acute sense of smell to locate invertebrate prey such as beetles, spiders, earthworms, slugs and snails. Using their sharp teeth and surprisingly powerful jaws, they are able to take down animals considerably larger than they are. As they cannot afford to spend any prolonged periods of time resting they are active night and day, stopping every hour of so to very briefly sleep before returning to hunting, and as they are unable to accumulate the body fat needed to undergo hibernation they are among the only small mammals across their range to remain active throughout the winter. Animals with high metabolisms often develop very quickly, and the Common Shrew is no exception - after breeding at any point between May and October females give birth after just 21 days, with the litter of 5-7 young shrews travelling with their mother as she hunts by holding onto her tail with their mouths and reaching full maturity after only around 10 months. The average lifespan of the Common Shrew is 2 years, although they may live for around 3 years in captivity.

#SOREX ARANEUS - COMMON SHREW🐀

#SOREX ARANEUS - COMMON SHREW🐀

Tiny skins of the common vole and the common shrew