Masked+Shrew

Masked Shrew Description: Overall brown to gray with lighter gray-to-white belly. A very long, pointed snout. Tiny dark eyes. Ears slightly visible. Long hairy tail, brown above and lighter below with a dark tuft at tip.

- Very secretive, solitary animal and is rarely seen because of its underground lifestyle. - The small size, brown color and long tail of the Masked Shrew help destinguish it from the other shrews in Minnesota. - Most abundant shrew in Minnesota. - Has a little body so must feed nearly every hour to keep warm or they will starve to death. - Heart rate will race to as many as 1,200 beats per minute when it is excited. (Can die from fright if captured). - Often eats more than its own body weight daily in worms, slugs, and beetles. - Gives off a strong musky odor, which makes it unattractive to large mammalian predators.

Size: L 1 3/4 - 2 1/4" (4.5-5.5 cm) T 1-2" (2.5-5cm)

Weight: 1/4 oz. (7g)

Habitat: Farmlands, praries, fields, bogs, wetlands, moist deciduous forests.

Home: nest, 4-6 inches wide, made of leaves abd grasses, under a log or rock.

Food: Insectivore, carnivore; insects, ants, slugs, spiders, earthworms, small mammals such as mice.

Life Spans: 1-2 years.

Number of Offspsring: 5-7 offspring 2-3 times per year.

Gestation: 18 days. Spring to autum mating.

Signs: Tiny tunnels or runways in freshly dug soil; shrew is rarely, if ever, seen.

Activity: Diurnal, nocturnal; active under snow in the winter.

Tracks: Hind paw 1/4-1/2" (.6-1 cm) long, forepaw slightly smaller; 1 set of 4 tracks, but prints are so close together they appear as 1 track; 4 prints together are 1 square inch (6.4 sq. cm), sometimes has a slight tail drag mark.

Range of the Masked Shrew in Minnesota: the whole state.



[] [] Mammals of Minnesota Field Guide by: Stan Tekiela

Sara Doeden & Grace Sweeter