Why do moles have poor eyesight. Does the mole have vision: is it true that the animal is blind? What does a mole eat

Warm-up competition 1. "True - not true"

1st part.

1. Is it true that the Amazonian kangaroo does not have a pouch?

2. Is it true or not that the European penguin can fly?

3. Is it true or not true that land whales douse themselves with water all the time?

4. Is it true or not that winged monkeys have a special rudder to control their flight?

5. Is it true or not that pygmy elephants suffer from insomnia?

6. Is it true or not true that thanks to feathers rich in phosphorus, the black parrot has the ability to glow in the dark?

7. Is it true or not that hares do not distinguish carrots from cabbage?

8. Is it true or not true that when a bird of the Northern Hemisphere meets a bird southern hemisphere shaking hands?

8. Is it true or not true that in 1999 there was an invasion of moths in the Principality of Monaco, which, fortunately, did not touch the famous carpets of Prince Franz Franck, a satisfied with just eating chestnuts?

10. Is it true or not true that whales cannot swim, but stay on the water only due to their huge weight?

11. Is it true or not that orangutans use their banana-smeared tails to lure termites out of termite mounds and then eat them?

12. Is it true or not true that African elephants suck out all the water from small ponds with their trunks and carry it with them to dry places, where they fill dry pits with this water in order to further use the water from the ponds they created?

13. Is it true or not true that moles see perfectly in a vacuum?

14. Is it true or not true that zebras with checkered coloring live in Madagascar?

15. Is it true or not that highland hippos with elephant trunks have recently been discovered in Nepal?

16. Is it true or not true that hooded crows become black with age?

17. Is it true or not that hares have a developed sense of shame?

(Answer: all of the above is false!)

2nd part.

1. Is it true or not true that the size of the moon fish can reach three meters, and the weight - two tons?

2. Is it true or not true that gorillas rarely quarrel among themselves?

3. Is it true or not that at the beginning of the 20th century, moose were considered rare animals, but now they have become common inhabitants in our forests?

4. Is it true or not true that a bear, which can weigh up to 800 kg. usually very small cubs are born, which weigh only some 600 grams?

5. Is it true or not true that sperm whales in search of food can dive to a depth of one kilometer and hunt there for half a mountain of hours?

6. Is it true or not true that the chicks of turaco birds (Bana-noids) have claws on their wings with which they cling to branches when, having left the nest and not yet able to fly, they travel through the trees?

7. Is it true or not true that the eyelids of snakes are transparent and grow together?

8. True or false that the bats Pretty nearsighted and see everything in black and white?

9. Is it true or not that the Romans made sausage out of dolphins?

10. Is it true or not true that if you live in Ethiopia with one wife for 25 years, you will receive the Order of Marriage Fidelity?

11. Is it true or not true that watermelons are salted in the Caucasus?

12. Is it true or not that crocodiles have green fat?
colors?

13. Is it true or not that swifts sleep on the fly?

(Answer: all of the above is true

Contest 2. Cities and countries flash by

10 points.

1. Missionary Francois Xavier wrote about the inhabitants of this country: “In honesty and virtue, they surpass all other peoples discovered to this day. They have a pleasant character, there is no deceit, and above all they put honor.

2. This country owns the most ancient text of the national anthem - the words date back to the 9th century.

3. According to the traditions of this country, give flowers ordinary people can only be a member of the imperial family.

4. Paradoxically, the national dress of the women of this country makes them flat in front and humpbacked in the back.

5. According to the inhabitants of this country, one who does not perceive the beauty of nature, especially the moon and rain, cannot be trusted in anything, since his heart is made of stone.

Answer: Japan.

20 points.

1. The state in question has the longest coastline in the world and ranks first in the world in terms of forest reserves per inhabitant.

2. The image of the beaver was not included in the coat of arms of this country, however, it is often found on its postage stamps, and in political drawings and cartoons, the beaver personifies the resident of the country as "an industrious, enterprising and non-aggressive creature."

3. On the territory of this country is the North Magnetic Pole, which is the center of the northern lights, so the northern lights can be seen in it even at a latitude of 45 ° N. sh.

4. The tree, the leaf of which flaunts on the state flag of this state, grows only in its southeastern part, which occupies only 5% of the country's territory, although 2/3 of all its inhabitants live there.

Answer: Canada.

30 points.

1. This city is located on more than 100 islands, along the banks of 65 rivers and canals, connected by 365 bridges.

2. According to Finnish legend, this city could not be built on marshy and unsteady swampy soil. Therefore, it was first built in the sky and only then carefully lowered to the ground.

3. The French Marquis de Custine wrote about this city in the 19th century that in it "Europe shows itself to Asia, and Asia to Europe."

4. D. Diderot's statement about the geographical position of this city is widely known: "It is extremely inappropriate to place the heart on the tip of your finger."

5. Karamzin called it "a city that grew out of the brilliant mistake of Peter I", and the hero of one of the novels who lived in it

He was afraid of Dostoevsky: “What if this fog breaks up and goes up, does not this whole rotten, slimy city go away with it, rise with the fog and disappear like smoke?” ("Teenager".) Answer: St. Petersburg.

40 points.

1. They say about this small country that God created the sea, and its inhabitants - the coast: more than half of its territory is protected from the sea by dams, 2000 windmills act as special pumps that pump out water.

2. In the satirical "History of the Russian State ...", written, there are such lines about Peter I and the capital of this state:

He said: “I feel sorry for you, you will perish in the end; But I have a stick, And I'm a father to all of you! No later than Christmas time I will give you order! And then, in order, he left for ....

Answer: The Netherlands.

50 points.

1. In this country, they admonish with the words: “Go slowly”, instead of “bon appetit” they say: “Eat slowly”, and the best gift for the 60th anniversary of a father or mother was recently considered a coffin.

2. In this country, for the first time in the world, local anesthesia was used for abdominal surgery, decimal fractions and negative numbers were discovered, a seismograph prototype was created.

3. The name of the capital of this country can be heard in the name of the dog breed.

4. In the language of this country there are no endings, suffixes, the word Fie is a noun, verb or adjective, and means only a concept. Grammatical relations in this language are determined by the combination of words and their place in the sentence.

5. According to the time of the capital of this country, 24% of the world's population lives.

Answer: China.

Explanation: Dog breed- Pekingese.

60 points.

1. Four parts that make up given country, symbolize: St. George and the rose, St. Andrew and the thistle, St. David and the leek, St. Patrick and the clover shamrock.

2. “A country where dogs don't bark and children don't cry,” foreigners say about this state. The Society for the Protection of Children arose in it 60 years later than the Society for the Protection of Animals and still has a lower status.

Answer: UK.

Competition 3. "Geographical crossword puzzle"

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Competition 5. "Across the seas and countries ..."

We play in the cities .... Captains competition. The captain of the losing team starts at the command of the teacher. Categories: cities, rivers, countries, mountains.

Players continue the geographical row from the letter with which the previous name ended.

Despite attempts modern education, many people are convinced that the mole is blind. They say, why does this animal need vision, because moles live underground, in absolute darkness. Indeed, in most cases, the eyes of the animals caught in the gardens are not visible at all. Often they are not found in moles on various photographs, of which there are many on the Internet: usually only a completely furred head is visible, without a single hint not only of the eyes, but also of the ears:

In fact, moles are not blind at all, they have eyes, and they successfully use them. To dispel some of the myths and misconceptions about mole blindness, let's take a closer look at these points. Is the mole blind? The photo below shows the head of an ordinary European mole:

The spot that the arrow points to is the eye of the animal. Moreover, this is a full-fledged eye that sees, albeit not as qualitatively as a person’s. However, it is true that the eyesight of moles is generally relatively weak. They can: Distinguish primary colors; Distinguish between light and darkness; Register the movement of objects with your eyes; See large objects that stand out (for example, a large pile of earth against a background of green grass). At the same time, a mole is not able to distinguish, for example, a hidden predator (for example, a ferret) from a stone. Nor can he see a worm lying motionless on the ground, but discovers it by smell and touch. Tactile abilities are especially developed in the so-called star-nosed moles, which have very sensitive mobile outgrowths in the nose. Below is a photograph of the star-nosed mole - this animal has a kind of additional "tactile" vision due to sensitive outgrowths, with which it quickly feels the path in front of it when moving:

Also, most types of moles do not see distant objects. The radius of their vision is about 1-2 meters, and everything that is further is a blurry background. However, the presence of eyes and the ability to see with them suggests that moles are not blind. Thus, the saying “blind as a mole” is not entirely correct, although it is quite possible to understand why it appeared ... Why is it considered that moles are blind? The opinion that the mole is blind appeared, obviously, from the testimonies of people who noticed him in wild nature or caught on their plots. Firstly, if the eyes of a mole are not purposefully looked for, then they are not noticeable at all. The fur of the animal completely hides them, and nothing is visible on the head except the nose. At the same time, you should not expect that the summer resident or gardener, with resentment for the damaged beds, will intently poke around in the fur of the animal, looking for his eyes. One glance (unfortunately, often at a killed animal) is enough to understand that the mole seems to have no eyes at all, and therefore, the animal is blind.

NoteSometimes moles crawl out of the ground to the surface, absolutely not noticing the person next to them. You can even bring your hand to the animal, but this will not frighten him, and he will continue to fussily look for insects in the grass. This once again testifies to the poor eyesight of moles and serves as an additional reason to call them blind. Secondly, the question is quite natural: why, in fact, does the mole need vision? After all most he spends his life underground, and comes out to the surface only occasionally, more often at night. The need for such a luxury as eyes, into which dust and earth can fall during underground work, is very doubtful. Nevertheless, the eyes of the mole are still useful, but more on that later. You also need to consider that in some species of moles the eyelids grow together, and the eyes literally remain under the skin. They have eyeballs, and they even see something, but there are no eyes on the surface of the body - why not say that moles are blind?

In fact, moles can be considered blind only when their organs of vision, wherever they are, do not transmit any information to the brain. In most species of these animals, the eyes work for their intended purpose, like optical instruments, albeit very weak ones. Moreover, even being under the skin, they see, distinguish between light and darkness, and make the animal sighted to a certain extent. This is interesting. Some types of moles see very well (for underground inhabitants). For example, this family includes the long-tailed mole, whose vision is similar to that of shrews. At the same time, the term “blind mole” itself, although not correct, is used in science. In science, in general, there are many such inaccuracies, and the blind mole is called separate view mammal. Blind mole as an independent species The blind mole is called the small mole, Talpa caeca - the smallest representative of the family in Europe. Like an ordinary mole, he has eyes, but they are constantly under his skin and can only distinguish between light and dark (there are also assumptions about the presence color vision, although there were no detailed studies that would confirm this). The photo shows a blind mole:

In general, this animal is similar in its anatomy and biology to its other relatives, with only a few pronounced and original differences: It is really small, rarely grows more than 12 cm in length (in common mole body length usually reaches 15-16 cm) and does not weigh more than 30 grams; This species has through holes in the clavicle, the origin and functions of which are still not clear; The blind mole mates in winter, still in frozen soil under the snow, and its cubs are born in March, becoming completely independent individuals by the usual breeding season of other species. Talpa caeca lives mainly in southern Europe, in Italy and Greece, but not found in Russia. Previously, it was combined with the Caucasian mole into one species, but today it is considered an independent full-fledged systematic unit, and its habitat in the east is limited to Macedonia.

The blind mole prefers to settle in the foothills, in subalpine grassy meadows, is often found in the same habitats as the Caucasian mole, and can even use its passages to move and collect prey. In the north of Greece, the range may overlap with the habitat of the common, European mole. The photo below shows heaps of earth in a meadow thrown out of the way by a small mole:

However, as you now understand, even a blind mole has eyes (albeit located under the skin) and is able to see to some extent. So, he is not as blind as they call him. Note Science knows many such inaccuracies in the names of animals. For example, gray rat in Latin it is called Norwegian, since the scientist who described it met this rodent on Norwegian ships, although at that time there were no such rats in Norway at that time. The American cockroach got its name because it entered Europe from the New World, although in America itself it turned out to be a guest from Africa. So the blind mole was called blind, although the quality of his vision differs little from that of an ordinary, “not blind” relative. Can a mole live without sight? The mole really uses his eyes all the time. Studies show that he: Seeks to get away from bright light - this allows him to constantly be under the cover of the soil, and on the surface to appear mainly in dark time days when most of his enemies sleep; He notices a predator that has fallen through or deliberately climbed into the course, mainly due to the ability of the eyes to register movement. And although in this situation the animal does not always manage to escape, often it is the detection of a predator with the help of vision that allows it to stay alive. And such "sighted" individuals, participating in the future in reproduction and passing on their genes to offspring, inhibit the evolutionary degradation of vision; When entering under the snow or on the surface of the soil, the animal can detect moving prey with the help of its eyes. That is, the vision of the mole helps a lot in its difficult life .

At the same time, in normal conditions almost all the actions necessary for life, the mole can perform without using the eyes. Collecting worms and insects in passages, searching for a sexual partner, laying new passages, rearing offspring - all this does not require the use of vision, at least the absence of it is not critical to perform these operations. And even a completely blind mole will cope with these tasks quite well. Highly organized large eyes providing acute vision, under conditions of regular underground work, they would constantly become clogged, suppurate, and would lead to diseases and death. Perhaps this happened in the distant past, while the moles adapted to underground life, and natural selection mercilessly weeded out those of them whose eyesight was worse than required, but better than was necessary for survival.

We conclude: a mole is capable of living without vision. But in many cases it makes life easier for him, and sometimes saves him. That is, vision for a mole is like the ability to run fast for a person: it usually does not help to earn money and build a career, but in dangerous situations it can be extremely useful ... If not vision, then what? The weakness of vision in moles is more than compensated by well-developed other sense organs. First of all, moles have a delicate sense of smell. By smell, they find worms and insects, when they get into someone else's passage, they immediately determine its age and employment, the owner's gender and species. The smell helps them in finding a sexual partner. Secondly, the mole hears well. It is believed that the animal is able to hear the steps of a person a few tens of meters away. Due to the unique structure of the inner ear, not found in any other mammals, the mole is very sensitive to low-frequency vibrations and can sense the approach of earthquakes. Thirdly, the mole's nose has special sensitive areas with which the animal can touch the intended prey in order to study it. These areas are called Eimer's organs and are responsible for tactile sensations (like the feeling of touching any object with a finger, only much more sensitive).

#InterestingAboutAnimal

are blind underground animals. No one sought to challenge this opinion, guided by the fact that underground eyes are not needed. But some scientists and naturalists became interested in checking whether the mole has eyes and how well he sees with them. At first glance, it is impossible to notice the eyes and ears. The head has a streamlined shape with an elongated nose and a small mouth. But besides this, the animal has excellent hearing and poor eyesight. But his underground lifestyle determined the presence of an unusual structure of the sense organs.

Appearance

Moles lead a life hidden from prying eyes, spending all the time in their own in search of food. They rarely come to the surface of the earth, so there is no way to see them more closely. But if you carefully approach the animal, it can allow itself to be examined. It is impossible to say for sure whether the moles see the environment or rely only on their instincts.

Most often in middle lane Russia can be found. If you look closely at the place on his head where the organs of vision should be located, small round eyes are noticeable. They are almost hidden by fur. In some species, the eyes of the mole are hidden under a fold of skin, which can grow together and completely hide the visual organ. Ears have internal structure and also covered with thick hair.

Why do you need eyes

Asking the question: are moles blind or not, another mystery arises - is there a need for these secretive inhabitants of holes to have vision. Making his way through the underground passages in complete darkness, the animal relies entirely on hearing and smell. This is quite enough to detect in the form of an insect.

There are several reasons why mole eyes are needed:

• poor vision helps to navigate in space, getting to the surface of the earth;
• sometimes the animal can see a predator on its way, which contributes to its flight from danger;
• getting into snowdrifts, the digger relies on his eyesight to make his moves through the snow;
• some species of animals overcome water barriers, orienting themselves with the help of visual organs.

Interesting!

If vision has great importance in life underground dweller then why are his eyes so small. This is explained quite easily: in the constant movement underground and making a path through the soil, his eyes are constantly polluted. If they were not protected by thick hair or skin fold, the mucous membrane of the eyeball could be vulnerable to inflammation.

Not all moles can see

Among numerous kinds these animals have representatives with quite good eyesight. These include long-tailed moles. The structure of their eyes is very similar to shrews, which are able to distinguish all objects and quickly respond to danger.

Small mole living in southern countries Europe, has a fold over its already small eyes. For this sign he is called blind. But he can also distinguish light through a fold. The Caucasian view of the animal has the same fold over its eyes.

On a note!

The presence of eyes in some species of shrews is often associated with their need to get to the surface of the earth. Animals that are almost constantly in deep burrows do not have an optic nerve.

There are also completely blind animals. These are marsupial moles. They do not have an optic nerve, and pigment spots are located in place of the eyes. Golden moles also see nothing. Their eyes are at a depth of 4-5 mm under the skin. Even light flashes for these types of excavators will not be distinguishable.

The absence of the optic nerve is compensated by other more acute sense organs. The nose of the underground inhabitant has a tactile function. Touching them to the worm, the animal recognizes the body temperature of the worm, its size, species. The developed sense of smell of the animal allows you to smell the enemy at a distance or find a sexual partner.

The reason for the difference in the organs of vision

Many representatives of shrews, for example, in size, lifestyle, habitat. This could not but affect the development or reduction of their vision. The species that live in upper layers soils, often climbing out or swimming across bodies of water, definitely need a visual organ.

Representatives of the underground inhabitants do not have eyes, because in deep holes there is no need for this rudiment. This explains why moles are blind. Such metamorphoses prove that evolution does not stand still, and many animal species change their structure over time under the influence of external factors.

Everything you wanted to know about moles: what they eat, how they see, their habitat

A small animal mole living underground has an elongated body up to 20 cm long, covered with soft velvety wool of a dark gray or black hue. Due to the fact that the pile does not have any particular direction, the mole can easily move underground in any direction. This is a special adaptation to the mole's habitat.

The mole has well-developed front paws, spade-shaped with long claws. With them, he rakes the ground, laying underground passages up to several tens of meters long per day. At a depth of about a meter, the mole makes a nest, usually under the roots of trees, lining it with moss and foliage.

Mole habitat

Moles are common on the Eurasian continent in the European part of Russia, in the Urals and even in Western Siberia. The border of their habitat in the east is the confluence of the Ob and Irtysh rivers. They love soft, pliable soil that can be easily dug, and avoid dry and swampy areas. They can be found everywhere: in gardens, in forests, in floodplains, in meadows and other places.

What does a mole eat

There is a wide variety of food underground, including earthworms, larvae of various beetles and butterflies, small insects, slugs, spiders, as well as small frogs and lizards. All this is eaten by the mole.

Since this small mammal metabolic processes are very active, the mole is forced to eat quite often, and in winter, contrary to popular belief, the mole does not hibernate at all, so the need for food, although small, is still there. In order not to die of hunger, he has been preparing food for himself since autumn. Basically, the stocks consist of earthworms, with which he bites through the head so that they do not spread. The life expectancy of a mole on such a diet is about 5 years.

How the mole sees

Perhaps the most interest Ask concerns the vision of the mole, or rather, whether the mole has eyes at all. In the cartoon about Thumbelina, we are used to seeing a blind mole with glasses. Although many people think that the mole is completely blind, it is not. The mole has eyes, but they are very small and completely useless underground, which is why the mole has poor eyesight. Apparently, the adaptation to the habitat of the mole led to the disappearance of the eyes, but the development of smell and touch, which allows you to find food in pitch darkness by smell and on touch.

The benefits and harms of moles

The mole is of great benefit to the soil, loosening it and providing an influx of air and moisture, as well as destroying many agricultural pests. However, there is also harm from moles for garden trees and shrubs, to which animals gnaw their roots. They also destroy earthworms, which are also good for the soil.

In order not to kill the moles themselves, but simply to force them to move, they use humane methods mole control, such as mole repellers such as Tornado.

Sections and articles about ultrasonic repellers:

Published: 2013-06-13

Mod.: 2017-08-31

• 1690 rub.

  The SMR-801 repeller is designed for areas up to 1000 sq. m. It is used against various rodents and moles. Works at the solar battery and the built-in accumulator.

• 1250 rub.

  Tornado OZV.02 is designed to protect land from rodents and other pests (moles, shrews, ground squirrels, rats, field mice, bears). For areas up to 2000 sq. m.

• 1050 rub.

  The electronic earthen pest repeller anti-mole Tornado OZV.01 is designed to protect land from the habitation of rodents and pests (moles, shrews, ground squirrels, rats, voles, bears, etc.). Power: 6 V. Effective area: 1000 sq.m.

• 1950 rub.

  This repeller for an area up to 650 sq. m. Designed to combat all common crop pests: moles, voles, shrews and others. The mole repeller SM-153 (MS-15) is powered by a solar battery, to which the battery is connected.

• 3390 rub.

  Mole 1 (WK-0675) emits ultrasonic and sound signals that affect nervous system moles and forced to leave the protected area. Power supply: 4 alkaline batteries class D. Effective area: 100 square meters. m.

• 2890 rub.

  The mole repeller is designed to protect land from the habitation of rodents and pests (moles, shrews, bears, etc.). Power: Solar battery + battery. Effective area of ​​action: 350 sq.m.

• 1200 rub.

  The Chiston-III repeller (2010 model) is used to repel earth-moving pests. Power supply: 4 alkaline batteries class D Effective area of ​​action: 1000 sq.m. m.

To companies have long excited my imagination :) After all, they are so inconspicuous! It turns out that many scientific minds are still struggling with many mysteries of these animals. They are almost unexplored due to their secretive lifestyle. 1. It turns out that moles not only hunt and immediately eat their favorite food - earthworms, but store them for a rainy day. In the mole pantry, worms are stored for a very long time. And in winter, when food is scarce, the mole feasts in its underground labyrinths. Repeatedly, when digging up mole passages, reserves of edible weighing more than 2 kg were found!
2. Moles have absolutely amazingly developed hearing and sense of smell to the detriment of blind eyes. Thanks to some kind of instinct, moles are able to return to their homes, even if they are moved to another place. Therefore, do not flatter yourself that by catching a mole in your garden and throwing it to a hated neighbor, you will thus get rid of it. The moles are back! :)
3. For 1 hour, with its spade-shaped paws, the mole is able to dig a hole 3 m long. On average, the length of the holes of each mole is 200 meters.

4. The fur coat of the animal is very interesting in structure - the pile on the body of the mole does not grow in one direction, like in most animals, but directly. This structure of the fur coat is very convenient when digging tunnels, because the wool does not lift up either when the mole breaks forward or when it is necessary to back away.
5. The speed of the mole along the tunnel he dug is 25 meters per minute. This is not in vain for mole wool - from contact with the walls of the burrow, the fur coat wears off rather quickly :) and the mole walks naked. But nature has foreseen this too: moles are forced to shed 3-4 times a year in order to acquire new wool again and again.

6. Some intimate details: male moles have a bone in their reproductive organ...
7. There is an opinion that the mole is absolutely blind. However, it is not. His eyes are most often covered with a fold of skin so that when digging, the earth does not get into them. The ears are also well protected. Such a small-looking mole has as many as 44 teeth in its mouth! A predator by nature, a mole also has fangs!
8. Moles can eat almost anything that moves. They can eat both a frog and a small animal that they can handle. Sometimes they even eat their weaker relatives.
9. Due to the fact that the mole is a very active animal and spends a lot of energy, it needs to eat something almost constantly in order to have the strength for digging work. He eats almost as much in a day as he weighs. And without food can not live more than 14-17 hours.
10. Moles are not so adapted to live in captivity that attempts by scientists and biologists to create suitable conditions for them and study them have not been successful so far. Or artificial burrows in a limited space become very damp, and the moles die. Either the always available food from the hands of scientists leads to the death of moles from obesity and daily inactivity ...