Red Car Property: Live Mole Sighting

Photo: Chad Ferrin, October 21, 2013.  Ferrin was fortunate to catch a photo of a 5-6" long (snout to tail) mole race across his Red Car Property adjacent yard.  If you look really closely you can see its tiny eyes, long snout and paddle-like front paw.  (Click on photos to enlarge.)

Ferrin writes in an email, "That's the best [photo] I was able to get
before the little fella scurried past me and dug under a stump."

Photo: Chad Ferrin, October 21, 2013.  That's the mole's short tail. 

It is highly unusual to see a mole above ground.  I think I've only ever seen one alive in the neighborhood, when it poked its snout up out of its burrow.  Moles eat worms & invertebrates.  

According to University of California Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program, moles are not in the rodent family.    

Learn more about moles: Wikipedia