dead moles

[Rabbitsmacker]

Been out walking the dog on the field and have seen 2 dead moles on the surface. One was very bedraggled but the other was as fit as a flea by the looks of. I took some pics I might upload them. He looked in good condition, nails and paws looked good, coat was good and he was complete and undamged save a bit of blood coming out of his mouth. The field is usually covered in mole hills but is now over grown a bit and I can't see any hills. The dry spell has left cracks big enough to get your thumb into, and the sudden downpours have done nothing to help.
My question is, can the ground be too hard for the moles to operate in? If so what do they do for food, do they surface? Or do they go deeper? Has my mole been a victim of the dry weather or is it coincidental and has he been dropped by an owl or something similar? Like from another area?

Any ideas? Anybody seen similar? I find it odd I've been walking the dog there for years and never seen a mole and now I've seen 2 both dead on the surface in same area.

 

[Husky]

I have no answer but I too have found the odd mole but more often shrews that lie dead, undamaged in the open. I have wondered if they, when they die "naturally" i.e. old age, don't hide away but go into the open for some reason.

 

[chris_irwin]

"Moles are sometimes seen above ground. They come to the surface to collect nesting material and to look for food when the soil is dry. Young moles come to the surface to look for new homes when they leave their motherÕs burrow. Moles emerge mainly at night but they are still vulnerable to predators; some mammals find them distasteful but many are eaten by tawny and barn owls."

From this page http://www.ypte.org.uk/animal/mole/143

 

[TheTwig]

It's down to the dry weather. Moles don't actually burrow to any great depth, but as the ground dries out the worms and other beasties go deeper, but the moles don't follow. As said above, they then come above ground and generally die. It is the same for shrews. At wetter times of the year a dead mole on the surface is generally as a result of a territorial dispute - moles are fiercely territorial.

 

[spiritwalker]

in relation to shrews very little eats them as they have really distasteful glands that puts the predator off. Normally juvenile predators kill them prior to learning this lesson hence you find the odd few on the ground untouched...not sure if moles may be similar

 

[JonathanD]

What the above fellas said. Bad time for moles as their prey is going deeper and they cannot follow very well. Most moles taken by predators have their heads taken only. But a few mammals will eat the whole thing. Moles will come out foraging for other things in dry weather. I've seen an adder eat a mole this last month which has never been recorded before as far as I am aware.

 

[blacktimberwolf]

Every spring in April I find around half a dozen dead moles in & around my garden. They are always adults, no sign of having been attacked, on open ground, all within 30 metres of each other & invariably they are on there stomachs. What is surprising is that there are very few signs of mole activity around & none where I find their corpses.
I think the dry weather, as suggested earlier, may have some foundation as the springs are becoming drier every year.
Another intereting thing is that I leave them in situ, nothing around will eat them ( though my dogs love to roll on them) they become fly blown of course & then after a week, they completely disappear, maggots & all......no idea what beasty takes them.but they are obviously to someone's taste at this stage in decomposition.