Connecticut’s open databases hold just 18 records for the hairy-tailed mole, one of the thinnest tallies of any mammal mapped in the state, a reflection of how little sign this animal leaves above ground.
A digger that prefers dry, loose ground
The hairy-tailed mole favors well-drained, loamy or sandy soil under forest and field, ground loose enough to tunnel through easily but firm enough to hold a burrow’s shape, unlike the wetter, mucky soil the star-nosed mole prefers nearby. That preference points to Connecticut’s better-drained upland woods, the kind of hillside soil found around Macedonia Brook State Park in the northwest corner, rather than the heavier, wetter ground of the river lowlands.
Almost never seen, only its tunnels are
Nearly all evidence of this species comes from its tunnels, not the animal itself. It pushes shallow ridges just under the surface while hunting earthworms and soil insects, and digs deeper permanent burrows for nesting and winter shelter once the topsoil freezes and surface hunting stops paying off. Records cluster in late spring and early summer, when the ground is soft and human activity in gardens and woods is more likely to turn up a fresh ridge or a mole pushed to the surface.
Status in Connecticut
NatureServe ranks the hairy-tailed mole S5, secure, and it’s native to Connecticut, even though its underground habits keep it almost entirely out of the state’s occurrence records.
