Dead mole

[FenLady]

We found a dead mole in our garden, there was no sign of attack from another animal and just wondered if anyone knows why it would be above ground and how it would have died?

[Rob_D]

Years ago I saw 3 or 4 moles dead above ground with no marks as you say. I always wondered what happened. Could it be they are forced out by flooding, then die of starvation? I know shrews don't last long without food, perhaps moles are similar?

[nightshade]

That sounds quite plausible

[tcdandelion]

A couple of years ago I came across a pure white mole on the edge of a fairly remote field . It could only have died a few minutes before I found it , there wasn't a mark on it and it looked in pretty good condition . I could only conclude it must have been poisoned somehow .

[Rob_D]

Wow a white mole - I bet very few have seen one of those!

I thought about poison too, but the dead moles I saw were in a remote place well away from human disturbance on the edge of a national park in the USA!

[deer boy]

On one of my johnny kingdom dvds he has footage of a white mole

[thunder]

A few (lots!) years ago I went to a county museum - they didn't have any "normal" Mole specimens, only white, pink, orange and piebald!

henrya

[Meta menardi]

Originally Posted by Rob_D

Wow a white mole - I bet very few have seen one of those!

I thought about poison too, but the dead moles I saw were in a remote place well away from human disturbance on the edge of a national park in the USA!

I am unclear as to why you post this on a site about wildlife in Britain. Moles don't swim that far.

[demicav]

There are usually quite a few dead Moles about in Spring (this is in England). Always believed it to be males fighting for the females and being driven out. It happens every year around the same time without fail.

[Rob_D]

Males being driven out makes alot of sense. Do you know why they die? Can't they just start a new tunnel?

<annoyed response to meta deleted>

[Dogghound]

There are several factors that kill moles, drought, floods and disease. Most moles are killed when young after they disperse from the females nest, but this is due to predators and yours has no marks so possibly one of the above factors.