Blarina brevicauda (Northern Short-tailed Shrew)

Found dead on a ditch bank road through a restored fen. Forested swamps composed of Tamarack (Larix laricina) and Black Spruce (Picea mariana) are adjacent to the fen which is largely grasses, sedges, and woody shrubs.

comments (3)

Christine Young

Lion

Is it unusual to find dead shrews? I wonder what happened to cause their deaths. Posted 4 years ago
1. Gary B
  
  Lion
  
  It seems it is more common to find dead shrews in domesticated places. The usual culprit is a cat. They will kill them but not bother to eat them. The smell of shrews is quite strong which makes them unpalatable. I think this shrew (and the other) was killed by a fox as there were tracks and scat everywhere. When I went back to this spot on Sunday both were gone. Perhaps they'd "aired out" enough to make them palatable? Posted 4 years ago
2. 1. Christine Young
    
    Lion
    
    Oh, weird! I didn't know that about shrews. Hopefully some creature made a nice meal out of these so they didn't go to waste, and it would seem so since they were gone upon your return. "Aired out", lol ;P Posted 4 years ago

The Northern short-tailed shrew

The northern short-tailed shrew is the largest shrew in the genus ''Blarina'', and occurs in the northeastern region of North America. It is a semifossorial, highly active, and voracious insectivore and is present in a variety of habitats like broadleaved and pine forests among shrubs and hedges as well as grassy river banks. It is notable in that it is one of the few venomous mammals. The specific epithet, ''brevicauda'', is a combination of the Latin ''brevis'' and ''cauda'', meaning "short tail".

Info 2 0

Similar species: Shrews, Moles, Hedgehogs, Etc.

Species identified by Gary B