Shrews - Nature's Smallest and Most Discreet Mammal Has Active Year-Round Lifestyle
Shrews and other small mammals are active all winter in tunnel-ways under the snow. They often feed on insect eggs and pupae.
Active year-round, shrews have terrific metabolic rates and must eat almost continuously. They are quick and some are aggressive and may even attack animals larger than themselves. At least one species of shrew has vemonous saliva, a rare example of toxicity in mammals. Delivered with a bite, the toxin immobilizes or kills prey, and can cause soreness and swelling in humans.
Shrews are short-lived. They die from floods, starvation, rapid temperature changes, habitat alteration, fights with other shrews and even from shock due to fright. Many predators catch and kill them, perhaps in mistake for mice, but since shrews secrete a repelling musky odor, predators often do not eat them. Shrews are common throughout Pennsylvania and are likely present on any and all WPC properties, particularly in Sphagnum Bogs in northern Pa.; in hemlock ravines and rocky habitats; in maple, beech, birch forests found in Thoms Run in southern Pa.; and in moist woodlands.
Pictured above is a quiet winter scene where a discreet shrew could be actively building a tunnel just below the surface.
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