Question

Respond to the following in a minimum of 175 words:

• What mammal in Minnesota has functioning that intrigues you? Explain.      

Answer 1

Shrews are the most intriguing mammals of Minnesota.

They are neither mouse not vole but they possess characteristics of both.

They are insectivores and believed to be the most primitive of contemporary living placental mammals.

They are nocturnal and have poorly developed eyesight.

They have very good senses of smell and touch.

They have a high pitched squeaks in woods or forests.

They are of different varieties too like pigmy shrew, arctic shrew , masked shrew and water shrew.

These species can swim and dive extremely well and also possess ability to run short distances on the surface of water.

They have a pungent smell that comes from their anal glands like a skunk smell, this strong foul smell will protect them from predators.

Some of the other interesting features of shrews are, they are very fast and furious and have a heart rate of about 800 to 1000 beats per minute. A variety known as Etruscan shrew is the smallest terrestrial mammal on earth which has the fastest heart beat of about 1500 beats per minute.

They can make about 12 body movements per second. They also has a high metabolism and hence have a very high urge for food all the time. Hence it's life is a constant search for prey and if they don't eat for a few hours it dies due to this they are in constant motion and rarely stops to sleep.

Another interesting fact is that se of the shrew varieties are venomous. They store enough venom to kill 200 mice. Though the shrews venom will not kill the prey, it paralyzes them and they are kept as meal whenever the shrews hunting is not so great.

Hence all these interesting and unbelievable facts about shrews makes it so intriguing mammal of Minnesota.