Dead rodents mystery

[Debby]

Maybe half doz of these were scattered along a mi or so of the trail between Oberg & Britton on the Superior Hiking trail last Sat. Had serious backpack companion so had no time for good look but none showed blood or trauma. Saw another on a trail near Babbitt this week. Curious deal. So, any sleuths have an explanation?
Debby

[John Gregor]

Dear Debby,

Looking up in Wikipedia, it states that the North American Common Shrew is susceptible to parasites. So it may be possible that the particular area you were in had an influx of parasites (like a hatching of fleas) that attacked the shrew population. That would be my guess.

John

On Sat, Aug 17, 2013 at 9:17 AM, Debby <debo...@gmail.com> wrote:

Maybe half doz of these were scattered along a mi or so of the trail between Oberg & Britton on the Superior Hiking trail last Sat. Had serious backpack companion so had no time for good look but none showed blood or trauma. Saw another on a trail near Babbitt this week. Curious deal. So, any sleuths have an explanation?
Debby

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[Jean Vertefeuille-Cutler]

Were they all shrews or were there mice too?  I found a mouse.

[Debby]

All shrews. 

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[Bill Tefft]

Shrews have glands that repel some predators - notably domestic cats.  I have been in areas in the past where cats that are loose in natural areas will chase, catch and ultimately kill shorttail shress like this one.  Since they won't eat them, they are often found dead in a trail.

There are also reports that these glands on their flanks may also deter foxes and dogs.

On Sat, Aug 17, 2013 at 9:17 AM, Debby <debo...@gmail.com> wrote:

Maybe half doz of these were scattered along a mi or so of the trail between Oberg & Britton on the Superior Hiking trail last Sat. Had serious backpack companion so had no time for good look but none showed blood or trauma. Saw another on a trail near Babbitt this week. Curious deal. So, any sleuths have an explanation?
Debby

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[Roger A Powell]

One often finds dead shrews on trails and roads, especially gravel roads.  Consie found 2 on our driveway this morning on her walk.  Presumably, they have been killed by predators but exactly why is not clear.  Foxes have been reported as predators.  I suspect that foxes are keyed to pounce on mouse-sized critters and check later if the critter is edible.  Killing a shrew and leaving it uneaten has little cost to a fox compared to taking the time to check first and possibly miss a kill.  So, shrews get killed and left.  I see short-tailed shrews (Blarina brevicauda) most often and the photo was of a short-tailed shrew.  These shrews are the largest shrews here.  The long-tailed shrews (Sorex) are all much smaller and may not be killed as often simply because they are so small.

Why shrews get killed in pulses is not understood, either.  I suspect that they may be driven to move long distances in search of food due to weather sometimes.  We have just had a series of warm, clear days which may have affected movement of invertebrates within the leaf litter.  Shrews forage mostly within the leaf littler, above the soil but below the leaves.  The dry weather may have decreased invert populations -- don't know.

Shrews are easy to identify.  Their fur, like that of moles, has no nap, allowing then to go forward and backward in tight places.  Their eyes are very small compared to eyes of rodents.  And, although their first pair of both upper and lower incisors are prominent, they are shaped very differently from rodent's incisors AND the incisors of shrews are tipped with a prominent dark red stain.  The function of that color is unknown.

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        rog . . . .

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Roger A Powell

Department of Biology
North Carolina State University
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Ely, Minnesota 55731-0918
and
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North Carolina State University
Raleigh, North Carolina 27695-7617

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     Piet Hein

[Debby]

The puzzling thing was that they all looked intact, no punctures, mutilations or signs of being attacked. 

Thank you to all the sleuths for shrew info!

Debby

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[Lisa Pekuri]

Thanks for all the information. I have found several dead shrews on the south side Trezona trail recently.

Lisa Pekuri

On Aug 17, 2013, at 1:24 PM, Roger A Powell <rpo...@ncsu.edu> wrote:

[John Gregor]

My money is on a parasite.

John

[Jodi Summit]

I've seen this also on the Tower bike trail...sometimes will see them almost evenly spaced...maybe every 20 feet or so, both in the summer and winter. Jodi

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From: Debby <debo...@gmail.com>;
To: ne...@ncsu.edu <ne...@ncsu.edu>;
Cc: elyfieldn...@googlegroups.com <elyfieldn...@googlegroups.com>;
Subject: Re: {Ely Field Naturalists} Dead rodents mystery
Sent: Sat, Aug 17, 2013 7:32:18 PM