Almost nobody actually sees a live eastern mole. This species spends its whole life tunneling through soil, so most of Ohio’s 108 records likely come from spotting its raised ridges and volcano-shaped mole hills in lawns and fields rather than the animal itself. That distinction matters more here than for almost any other species on this list.
Records climb sharply in April and May, right as spring rain softens the ground and fresh digging becomes easy to spot after a winter of snow cover hid it. Ohio hasn’t given the eastern mole a numeric NatureServe rank (SNR, unranked); it’s one of the state’s most widely distributed small mammals, just rarely noticed for what it is.
Full species profile
