童年的回忆——《鼹鼠的故事》

相信凡是看过捷克经典动画片《鼹鼠的故事》的人都会被那只圆头圆脑的黑色小鼹鼠所吸引，这个幽默快乐的小家伙用俏皮可爱的一举一动征服了全世界无数的孩子甚至成人。动画里的鼹鼠总是喜欢带着铲子挖来挖去，掘起一堆堆的小土坡。你知道吗，真正的鼹鼠也随身带着“小铲子”呢，那就是它强有力的两只前爪，用以帮助它更好地适应地下掘土生活;鼹鼠很少钻出地面，它们可是名副其实的“地下工作者”。当你行走在柔软的草坪上时，如果看见一些小土丘，那么，也许可爱的鼹鼠就在离你不远的地方哦!

Moles spend almost their entire lives underground—small weak eyes, velvety[1] fur, and small hips for turning around in tight places. Moles also have broad front feet, the toes of which terminate in stout claws faced outward for digging. A mole can dig its way through an amazing 14 meters of soil in just one hour!

Moles measure around 14 centimeters in length and have a three-centimeter tail. The moles tail is carried erect and the hairs on the tip give the mole information about its surroundings by brushing against the tunnel roof. Moles sleep, feed and breed in their tunnels. Moles occasionally appear above ground at the top of one of their characteristic molehills[2], and even then usually only the head and pink fleshy snout is revealed.

Moles are carnivores feeding almost exclusively small invertebrate animals living underground such as earthworms and the larvae of beetles and flies.[3] A mole may also occasionally catch small mice at the entrance to its burrow. Because their saliva contains a toxin that can paralyze earthworms, moles are able to store their still living prey for later consumption. They construct special underground “larders” for just this purpose. Researchers have discovered such larders with over a thousand earthworms in them.

A mole’s preferred habitats are wooded hilly districts. Moles have a well-developed sense of orientation retaining a mental plan of their complex layout of underground tunnels. Moles burrow in lawns, raising molehills and killing the lawn, for which they are sometimes considered pests. They can undermine plant roots, indirectly causing damage or death. Though moles are the bane[4] of many lawn owners, they make a significant positive contribution to the health of the landscape. Their extensive tunneling and mound building mixes soil nutrients and improves soil aeration[5] and drainage. Moles also eat many lawn and garden pests.

鼹鼠的一生几乎都是在地下度过的——它们眼睛小视力弱，体毛(丝绒般)柔软，臀部短小适于在狭窄的地方来回转身。鼹鼠还拥有宽大的前肢，结实的前爪上长有外翻的足趾，很适于掘土。一只鼹鼠在一个小时内居然可以挖穿14米长的地道!

鼹鼠身长约14厘米，外加一条3厘米长的尾巴。鼹鼠的尾巴是直立的，尾尖的毛可以通过擦拂隧道顶部向鼹鼠传达周围环境的信息。鼹鼠的饮食、起居，还有繁殖都在它们的地道里进行。它们偶尔会钻出地面，出现在其特有的某个鼹鼠丘顶上，即使在这时，它们通常也只会露出脑袋和粉嘟嘟的肉嘴。

鼹鼠是食肉动物，几乎能吃所有生活在地下的小无脊椎动物，比如蚯蚓、甲虫和蝇类的幼虫。鼹鼠偶尔还能在自己的洞口处抓住一些小老鼠。由于它们的唾液中含有一种能够麻痹蚯蚓的毒素，鼹鼠可以将这些活的猎物储存起来供以后享用。它们还为此建造了专门的地下“贮藏库”。研究人员们曾发现藏有一千多条蚯蚓的这类贮藏库。

鼹鼠喜欢栖居在树叶繁茂的山丘地区。鼹鼠方向感很强，心中对它们复杂的地下隧道布局很有规划。鼹鼠在草坪下挖洞，隆起的鼹鼠丘会破坏草坪，因此它们经常被看作是有害动物。它们还会破坏植物的根部，从而间接给植物造成伤害或死亡。尽管鼹鼠对许多草坪主人来说都是祸害，它们对这些自然景观的健康却做出了积极重要的贡献。它们挖的大量洞穴通道和堆起的土墩都会使土壤中的养分得以充分融合，从而提高了土壤的通风和排水性能。鼹鼠还可以吃掉很多草坪和花园里的害虫。