The Westminster Collection - Honouring the nation's most important events and anniversaries with historic commemorative coins, stamps and collectables.

Great British Collection Medal Mole

Scientific name: Talpidae

Adult Size: 14cm, Average tail length - 2.8cm.

Adult Weight: 110-120g

Top Speed: Moles are phenomenal diggers and can shift 540 times their own body weight of earth per day, tunnelling up to 200 meters per day - 6km/h (4mph)

Life Span: 8 years

Habitat: Mainly in wooded hilly districts in the north and west of England, Wales and Scotland.

Diet: Carnivorous, feeding almost exclusively on earthworms and the larvae of beetles and flies.

Other interesting facts: The Mole is the only mammal to live solely underground and they achieve this because they have a greater proportion of red blood cells than other mammals. This helps them to live in an environment where oxygen levels are low, typically 7%.

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