Common Shrew

Description: Three-colored dense fur (dark brown, pale brown and white), a long, pointy and mobile nose, tiny eyes, small ears and red tipped teeth

Height: 24-44mm;

Length: 48-80 mm

Tail: less than 3/4 of the length of the head and body.

Hindpaw: 2-3mm

Weight: 05-14g.

Sign: Spore is less than 1/8” in diameter. Tracks are five-clawed feet with a deep toe impression.

Breeding: May-September, 5-7 young born alive. They can live up to 12 months. They do not hibernate, but are less active in winter.

Range: 370-630 square miles

Habitat: Hedgerows, scrubland, grassland and deciduous woodland., where ever there is some low vegetation cover

Shrews must eat every 2 to 3 hours just to survive. They are most commonly found foraging. Shrews nest in burrows and take shelter in them for brief periods in bad weather. They hunt in thick grass and dense undergrowth and so are protected from heavy wind and rain and many of the shrew's prey, like slugs and snails, are easier to find in wet conditions. While a Shrew will not steal a currently-occupied burrow, they will make use of abandoned burrows near a good food source. They eat insects, earthworms, small slugs and snails.

While hunted by owls, weasels, foxes, stoats and kestrels - few animals will eat a shrew unless it is very hungry. Shrews move very quickly, but can often be heard when they mate in the spring. They emit a series of high-pitched shrieks and chatters which belie their small size.

A Shrew’s curiosity is quite often the death of them. They will investigate any burrow, or hole in their territory. They are active both day and night (but mostly at night), and rest for only a few minutes between bouts of activity.

On meeting strangers of the same sex, shrews will momentarily freeze, and then squeak loudly and rear onto their hind legs. They may then chase each other, resulting in a scuffle where they aim bites and kicks at each other. They build nests below the ground or under dense vegetation. Shrews have a good sense of smell and hearing, but their eyesight is poor. They locate prey hidden up to 12 cm deep in soil, by probing and sniffing with their snout.

After a gestation period of 24-25 days, females give birth to 1-10 young (typically 6). The breeding season lasts from April to September, but peaks in the summer. The females rear 2-4 litters a year with no help from the males. The young are weaned after 22-25 days, after which they are fully independent of their mothers. When disturbed from the nest, the young will sometimes follow their mother in a caravan fashion, using their mouths to hold on to the tail of the sibling in front.

Myth and Lore

Shrews can be found in any shady dark place, especially those that house or once-housed food of any kind. The shrew is the most common rodent found in grain storage and smoking houses. Cats do not like hunting shrews due to the fact that shrews are so very aggressive, often biting back as the cat tries to devour the beast. Dogs often suffer more from shrews as they tend to sniff new creatures and thus get bit on the nose. Good cures for shrew-bites includes a poultice made of boiled down cow urine and Tibins bane.

Shrews will steal small items that smell of food. Women are strongly advised to wash their hands after handling food to stop the smell of food from getting on their sewing or weaving. Shrews will tear apart any woven good that smells even slightly of fat. Shrews have been blamed for destroying hundreds of yards of cloth in a season for lack of clean hands.

The tribal nations of Hârn believe the shrew is the fate of a vengeful woman who causes her mate to be killed by her own quest for vengeance. The shrews are often killed on sight by the children as an attempt to free the spirit from the angry animal form it has taken. The children often roast the shrews as a quick afternoon snack, finding them quite tasty too.

Shrews have been known to grow in number to the point where they will not only devour a small village’s winter store of goods but all other small rodents as well. Small puppies and kittens should be guarded from entering dark areas where multiple shrews may be in hiding. Shrew-bites are lethal to young animals, but only during their first year or so. Any animal larger than a child of 3 seems to be immune.

Fishermen believe a live shrew is the best bait for catching large fish in fresh water bays. The shrews should be as hungry as possible without having them die so that they will not bite the fishermen, but will struggle when placed in the water. The shrew is a good swimmer and will begin to paddle furiously once dropped in the water. The fish, upon seeing the tiny motion atop the water should dive up and gobble the beast whole. The shrew will struggle towards the air and should allow the fisherman to easily snag the fish with a net.

Cooking Lore

There is no cooking lore for shrews on the island of Hârn or anywhere in north-western Lythia. Most consider the animal unclean and too small to bother hunting.

Shrew Tracks

Common Names

“Three-color mouse”, “Crooked Tail Mouse”, “Red Toothed Mouse”, “Red Teeth”

Hunting Shrews

Few hunt shrews for anything more than practice or entertainment. A ferocious little mammal, the shrew is so curious that almost any jar or box will attract them.

Shrew Recipe

Shrew-on a stick seems to be the only way to cook this brochette-sized animal. Hârnic pedlars are use to such a meal; especially after spending a few nights on the trail only to awake to find one or two shrews digging about in their packs.

Shrew & The Mouse

One day the shrew and the mouse met down by the riverside. The shew was a forgiving beast who saw the mouse was greatly harried.

“Friend Mouse.” began the shrew, “you look so tired and scared. Rest awhile and tell me your troubles.”

The mouse sat and began his long tale of woe. He described how unjustly he was being chased for crimes he did not commit. The cat claimed he could not sleep for the mouse’s noise-making. The dog claimed his humans blamed him for the mouse-droppings. And the fox blamed the mouse for drafty holes in his burrow.

Enraged the shrew offered to go to the other animals and defend the mouse. The mouse readily agreed.

But when the shrew went to the other animals he was mistaken for a mouse and locked away. After years in prison he convinced the cat he was not a mouse and was released.

He then tried to plead the mouse’s case. But over time each animal showed him proof of the mouse’s crimes and the shrew realized he’d been tricked.

When he returned to his home he found the mouse and all of the mouse’s family at home in the shrew’s burrow. The mouse panicked when he saw the shrew and tried to talk the shrew out of his murderous rage. Eventually he gave up and began to run.

Ever since then all shrews will chase mice, whenever they see them and regardless of their number.

A crime once committed is not forgotten until the guilty pay.

Truly this is a Thardic animal.

References

GENERAL INFORMATION - ENCYCLOPEDIA.COM, Encyclopedia Britanica, The Mammal Society, The Shrewist Site

FORMAT for the article by - Mitchell Gore and Robert B. Smuck (Fauna of NWLythia by).

This article is the fourth part of the GROUNDERS article. There are four parts in total: GROUNDERS: URCHEONS, MOLES, and SHREWS.

This page was last updated on April 27, 2005
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