Sensational Senses: Amazing Ways Animals Perceive the World

Sensational Senses: Amazing Ways Animals Perceive the World — page 3
CHAPTER 1 Star of the Swamp STAR-NOSED MOLE SCIENTIFIC NAME Condylura cristata SECRET HIDEOUT wetlands of southeastern Canada through the eastern United States as far south as Georgia SIZE up to 8 inches 20 cm long from star to tail WEIGHT up to 2.7 ounces 77 g SUPER SENSE ultrasensitive touch A dark creature scampers through a tunnel under a swamp Pit-pat-pit-pat Its body is cloaked in sleek black fur Its face appears to be under attack by a pack of tiny wriggling pink worms Except those aren’t worms that’s its superpowered nose Say hello to the star nosed mole As the creature darts through the dark tunnel it rapidly pats its supersensory snout along the moist marshy soil The nose encounters a soft pink slug Slurrp The slug disappears into the mole’s mouth The mole creeps forward bopping its nose along the ground Splat The nose touches a grub Chomp In a blink the tasty morsel is gone The mole will continue all day finding meals with its sensitive nose By the end of the day it will have eaten its body weight in food 6