Garden Pests and Diseases: is this a vole?, 1 by Equilibrium

Equilibrium wrote:
I'm pretty sure Stelco hit the id. That looks like a Short-Tailed Shrew (Blarina brevicauda) to me. I just rescued one from a window well.

An easy way to begin determining what you have is that mole snouts are hairless while mice, voles, and shrews have hair on their snouts. From there count the toes on a front foot as mice generally only have four toes on their front feet. Moles and Shrews have five toes on their front feet. Shrew feet are dainty like a mouse while mole feet are broader and webbed. There are other differences but these are the most visible.

For what it's worth, shrews don't do all the damage they are accused of doing and they are rarely if ever classified as a pest. Short-Tailed Shrews mostly live in above ground tunnels they create under decaying logs, piles of leaves, grass, and other vegetation. They will take over underground burrows located close to ground level that were abandoned by other species so I guess I'd call them opportunistic from that standpoint. Shrews have a tremendous appetite and can eat about twice their weight daily. Shrews are particularly fond of slugs and snails but will also eat insects and worms so I view them as friend not foe. They will also eat mice and other shrews if the opportunity presents itself although they are classified as insectivores. Shrews are a dietary staple of many raptors.

Here's a close up photo of the front feet of Blarina brevicauda that I took before I released it outside. Not the greatest photo and he's alive so he's nice and hydrated sporting his velvety coat but you can count the toes and see that his snout is more elongated and hairy-