Moles in Captivity

Great Argus said:
You must really like ze dirt and mole plushies if you want to be the Mole man! :p

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Please do not make fun of me. I do not understand this.

CMTM said:
Unfortunately all I recall was the flying squirrels. I would've remembered a stoat but it's certainly possible I missed a gray or red squirrel. I think the only mustelid I saw was the fisher. They did not have a skunk at my last visit but said they were expecting one soon. They also expressed a desire to add otters at some point. There was also a sign talking about sea mink but no american mink on display.

I should be returning sooner than later and I'll let you know what I see.
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Sounds delightful, I'm just excited to see a Moose nonetheless. Thank you for the help,

Aardwolf said:
I think most of us who have seen moles haven't really been looking for them, they've just been incidental sightings. If you're so keen to see one, have you considered talking to a local gardening store/supply shop to ask them of any places they could recommend? Or a pest removal service? A lot of gardeners consider moles to be nuisances, and there has been a lot written (dating back centuries) on how to remove them (lethally or otherwise) from gardens. They may be able to give you specific pointers on where they might be plentiful or more easily found in your area.
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I will do just that. I will be seeking out resources. Unfortunately I do not live in rural or suburban areas, but an urban environment. I will seek these creatures out. Thank you for the kind gestures.

Mole man out.
 
Leaf Productions said:
Please do not make fun of me. I do not understand this.
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It was intended as a joke, the character's name is Mole and he is an excavations expert; it immediately came to mind after you said "become the mole man" and I hoped it would be taken lightly and in fun. Clearly it was not, so my apologies.
 
Great Argus said:
It was intended as a joke, the character's name is Mole and he is an excavations expert; it immediately came to mind after you said "become the mole man" and I hoped it would be taken lightly and in fun. Clearly it was not, so my apologies.
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Honestly I thought Leaf Productions was referencing Hans Moleman from the Simpsons. I had totally forgotten about the Atlantis character until you brought him up.

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Funny how the humble mole has influenced pop culture to such an extent!
 
Great Argus said:
It was intended as a joke, the character's name is Mole and he is an excavations expert; it immediately came to mind after you said "become the mole man" and I hoped it would be taken lightly and in fun. Clearly it was not, so my apologies.
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Leaf is just making a funny, it's impossibke to tell given the soullessness of text.
 
Tim May said:
Glad you found this of interest, David.

It was almost twenty-seven years ago but, as I recall, the star-nosed mole was kept in a small dark vivarium with artificial burrows made of narrow transparent tubes. After waiting patiently for some time, I recall the mole’s star-shaped nose suddenly materialising from one of the tubes and grabbing a worm.
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Oh wow! Do you remember where at the zoo it was kept!? I'm nervous to check what years I visited to find out if I missed this extreme rarity haha!
 
Maine Wildlife Park only has flying squirrels in the nocturnal bit now, but the signs are still there for the moles. No stoats or squirrels, either. Only mustelid is pekan.
 
Tim May said:
It was more than thirty years ago but, if I recall correctly, the star-nosed mole was kept in the Small Mammal House.
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I can now speak to this as well!

Yesterday I had the privilege of speaking with Ken Catania of Vanderbilt University and formerly of the National Zoo. Ken was the one who collected and researched the Star-nosed Mole population at the zoo. One individual was kept on display in the small mammal house and the others (around six individuals) were part of a research group kept behind the scenes.

In regards to the enclosure Tim May saw, the tubes were clear "habitrail" tubes and the substrate was peat moss. The animals were fed mostly earthworms and thrived on that diet. Ken seemed to feel like the species was not too difficult to keep and expressed that it could be done again if anyone wanted to try. He himself has kept them several times in his laboratory with great success.
 
CMTM said:
...seemed to feel like the species was not too difficult to keep and expressed that it could be done again if anyone wanted to try.
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I wonder how many thousand species worldwide this sentiment could now be applied to....
 
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Swampy said:
I wonder how many thousand species worldwide this sentiment could now be applied to....
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I think the great Dr. Ian Malcom said it best: 'Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether they could, they didn't stop to think if they should."

There are likely thousands of species unrepresented in human care who's husbandry needs are more than attainable. It is important to consider the "should" when considering why to bring a species into human care. As far as I am aware there is no immediate concern for any species of mole and the educational value of a mole display is certainly a valid possibility, but personally I see no point in keeping a species solely because it is possible to do so.
 
TeaLovingDave said:
Except for the evolutionarily-significant and rapidly dwindling Russian Desman and Pyrenean Desman, of course ;)
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Whoops, my ignorance is showing! If I'm being honest I've never heard of either, regretfully.

Edit: Did a little reading on them and boy they are neat! I am now a fan of the desman.
 
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Tim May said:
....The only captive mole that I’ve ever seen was back in the autumn of 1990 when I saw a star-nosed mole at the National Zoo in Washington. Richard Weigl’s book Longevity of Mammals in Captivity (2005) lists the longevity record for a star-nosed mole as 2 years 6 months; this was an individual that lived at the National Zoo, Washington, from 8th July 1988 until 13th January 1991 – so this is possibly the animal that I saw (although I don’t know how many specimens Washington Zoo had about this time).
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CMTM said:
I can now speak to this as well!
Yesterday I had the privilege of speaking with Ken Catania of Vanderbilt University and formerly of the National Zoo. Ken was the one who collected and researched the Star-nosed Mole population at the zoo. One individual was kept on display in the small mammal house and the others (around six individuals) were part of a research group kept behind the scenes.

In regards to the enclosure Tim May saw, the tubes were clear "habitrail" tubes and the substrate was peat moss. The animals were fed mostly earthworms and thrived on that diet. Ken seemed to feel like the species was not too difficult to keep and expressed that it could be done again if anyone wanted to try. He himself has kept them several times in his laboratory with great success.
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Thanks very much for the additional information about the star-nosed mole in Washington Zoo.

It is interestingly to know that only one individual was kept on display in the Small Mammal House and the others were kept behind the scenes.
 
Tim May said:
Thanks very much for the additional information about the star-nosed mole in Washington Zoo.

It is interestingly to know that only one individual was kept on display in the Small Mammal House and the others were kept behind the scenes.
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My impression was that there was always at least on on display and the others were being used for research. It is certainly possible and perhaps even likely that the individuals were cycled between display and research.
 
MOLE ALERT!

Lakeside Nature Center has at least one Eastern Mole Scalopus aquaticus on display as of 8/6/22. The exhibit and it's inhabitant were both seen by user DesertTortoise. The enclosure can be seen by googling "Lakeside Nature Center" and clicking "see photos" in the information box on the right side of the page and then sorting by latest.

Looks like clear tubes connecting small clear "rooms", not unlike the Star-nosed Mole exhibit at the National Zoo as descibed by user Tim May. Seems that this may be the go-to to exhibit this group in North America at least.
 
I've never seen a mole in person, just their hills, but I have seen an equally cool cousin to moles out in the wild: a short-tailed shrew. On a trip to the lake of the Ozarks about ten years ago, I saw one dash across the road. It is a memory I cherish.
 
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