Did you know that the European mole (Talpa europaea) has a toxin in its saliva which paralyses earthworms, their favourite food? The moles may then store the paralysed earthworms in special 'larder' chambers within their burrows, where they are kept alive and fresh until later consumption. These larders have been reported to contain many hundreds of earthworms at a time!
When it's time to visit their pantry for a snack, these moles have a clever trick to make sure they don't consume all the unpleasant soil stuck inside the paralysed earthworm's guts... by rolling the earthworm between their powerful front paws, they forceably squeeze the soil out of the worm, making their meal much less gritty!
#SoilBiodiversity #SoilEcology #TheWorldBeneathOurFeet #MacroFauna #Nature #MacroPhotography #NaturePhotography
