On our site we want to present you this time an article about an interesting animal, the shrews, mammalian animals that are among the smallest of their group. The largest species reaches about 15 centimeters, while the smallest between 3 and 5 centimeters longHowever, don't be fooled by their size, as these tiny animals are important predators within the ecosystems they inhabit.
Because of their resemblance, shrews are usually related to rodents, such as mice, however, they belong to the order Eulipotyphla, which they share with the excesses, moles, gymnudes, solenodons and hedgehogs, with whom they are more closely related. If you are interested in knowing specifically about what shrews eat, be sure to read the next lines, where you will find valuable information about it.
Where do shrews live?
The shrews have a preference for humid places with plenty of vegetation, since without a doubt many more options proliferate in these places for their varied feeding. However, some species can inhabit desert and rocky areas. In this sense, the ecosystems where we can locate the shrews are:
- Forests.
- Meadows.
- Dunes.
- Mountainous areas.
- Boundaries of rivers and lakes.
More specifically, they can be located at different heights, ranging from sea level to approximately 2,000 meters. They live in several countries around the world, with the exception of Australia, New Zealand, New Guinea and Antarctica. In America they are present in some areas.
Characteristics of shrews
Shrews are quite solitary and highly territorial animals However, during the winter and when breeding, they may share their nests, which dig underground, although they also occupy caves abandoned by other animals. The females only accept one male for reproduction, but they can be with more than one female at a time.
On the other hand, shrews have such a high metabolic rate that they spend most of the day being active, having short periods of sleep. In winter they do not hibernate, however, some species may have some periods of torpor.
In order to find their way around the day, some species of shrews have the ability to use echolocation (a system like the one used by bats), which consists of emitting ultrasounds, in order to recognize the area in which they are found.
On the other hand, this group has a fairly effective strategy to avoid potential predators, and that is the presence of scent glands that make them produce a quite unpleasant smell, so they are not palatable to carnivores with a good sense of smell. However, they can be preyed upon by animals with a poor sense of smell, as is the case with some birds.
What do shrews eat?
Shrews have a voracious appetite Therefore, especially in winter, shrews need to havefood constantly available , since it is not enough with the animals they consume when they hunt. That is why shrews store food in their burrows, which they hide very well from other predators, and eat every 2 hours throughout the day.
The following is a list containing the types of food that the various species of shrews can consume, which, although they preferentially eat animals, they also feed on plant products, therefore, they are considered omnivorous animals:
- Ants.
- Termites.
- Beetles.
- Crickets.
- Worms.
- Larvae.
- Spiders.
- Lizards.
- Snakes.
- Annelids.
- Frogs.
- Rodents.
- Oligochaetes.
- Chilopods.
- Snails.
- Fishes.
- Birds.
- Amphipods.
- Nuts.
- Seeds.
In captivity, it has been shown that these animals find it difficult to consume food that is in large pieces, so they should be fed in small pieces.
Curiosities about shrews and their diet
There are species of shrews capable of producing toxic substances that mix with their saliva. Such is the case of the American short-tailed shrew (Blarina brevicaud), which has submandibular glands where saliva is produced along with the toxic compound. The fossil record also shows other species of poisonous shrews that have become extinct, such as the species Beremendia fissidens.
Now, about this peculiarity of producing poison (a very rare feature in this class of vertebrates), scientists have two positions on the matterthat are linked to the topic of feeding the shrews:
- To paralyze the victim: on the one hand, it is suggested that due to the need they have to consume large amounts of food, the poison (a neurotoxic substance) does not kill the prey but paralyzes it, so it is used to keep immobile animals in their burrow.
- To defend themselves: the other approach is linked to an evolutionary strategy of the group, which it uses to face much larger animals, which requires greater effort and energy expenditure. Thus, by biting and injecting the neurotoxic venom, its prey would be defenseless despite being larger than the shrew.
One aspect that is clear is the aggressiveness with which these animals can attack when hunting. In fact, your teeth are vital weapons for these times. Shrews can eventually lose some of their teeth. When this happens, they die in a short time due to the inability to feed according to their requirements.
The animal world never ceases to amaze us, the size and appearance of a species is not always indicative of what they are capable of doing, as exemplified in the case of the shrew, which although small and fragile and harmless in appearance, it attacks its prey in a ferocious manner, being among the most active mammals on the planet.
