Meet Britain’s smallest mammal, the pygmy shrew (Sorex minutus). It has a body length
Meet Britain’s smallest mammal, the pygmy shrew (Sorex minutus). It has a body length of just 5cm and weighs less than a 10p coin.The pygmy shrew’s incredibly small size means that it loses heat easily, so energy is used up quickly in order to keep the body warm. As a result, it can only go a maximum of 2-4 hours without eating, and consumes considerably more than its own bodyweight in food every day. Pygmy shrews are therefore active during the day and night, searching almost continuously for small insects to eat - potentially making more than 250 kills a day. Iron deposits on the tips of their teeth help to protect against the wear and tear of such regular eating, colouring the teeth a vampirish red. They have tiny eyes and poor vision but, as their long snout and many whiskers suggest, they have keen senses of smell and touch.Pygmy shrews are solitary and highly territorial outside of breeding season; they will patrol and defend an impressive 200 to 2000 square metres of land. The pygmy shrew cannot store enough fat to allow hibernation in winter, so they must remain active, although they may lose up to a third of their normal body weight. Their lifespan is approximately one year, during which they will experience a single breeding season between April and August. With a gestation period of just three weeks, a female will usually birth two or three litters of 2-8 young in her lifetime.The pygmy shrew is widespread across Britain and Ireland and can be found in a wide variety of terrestrial habitats such as gardens, parks, woodland, farmland and moorland. More information at: The Wildlife Trusts - The Mammal Society - UK Safari - The Vincent Wildlife Trust - Arkive Photo by polandeze -- source link
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