Following the success of Owls and Otters, the first volumes in this new Collection, the third volume is devoted to one of Britain's most common but rarely seen mammals.
Because they live underground moles are beneath the notice of most people except when they torment us with their molehills. Most of us see a mole as simply something to be destroyed, and never get to know the astonishing animal that lives under our feet. And yet moles are mighty and beautiful, mysterious and independent, resilient and industrious.
This entirely new book takes us deep into the world of moles. In the lonely darkness of their tunnels hunger forces moles on a cycle of digging, patrolling and eating, broken in spring as males drive themselves to exhaustion on mating forays, and females raise babies in warm nests. When their time comes young moles make dangerous journeys above ground – just the start of the perils that lie ahead. Sadly, we humans add to their woes, holding moles' representatives in literature in far more affection than we do the real animal.
Rob Atkinson, who studied moles at the Wildlife Conservation Research Unit at Oxford University, takes the reader into the shadows of the tunnels, uncovering a world of secrets few have ever seen. He also gives some tips on how to study moles.
The book is beautifully illustrated throughout by Belinda Atkinson.