Dead moles could be sign of drought
Local residents are concerned that the sudden death of four moles in their garden could be signs of an impending drought.
THE sudden death of at least four moles has led a Glenwood resident to believe its heralds the signs of drought and locals need to heed the call to be wise with water.
According to Jacqui Osz, a resident of Manor House in Glenwood, she was surprised when her cat, Seraph brought a mole to her doorstep on one of the mornings last week but was completely shocked when four moles were found dead in the garden. “Its such a strange phenomenon they only sign of them we have seen before last week was just mole hills in the garden. We are not doing anything different in the garden and don’t use poisonous pesticides because we believe they are crucial to the ecosystem so are very concerned with the deaths,” she said.
Osz believes the sudden mole death phenomenon could be brought on by an impending drought because the moles seem to have died of starvation and thirst. “The ground is too hard for them to burrow down its terribly sad. Last week I had to return the mole that my cat brought me and found a moist are so put it down and hope its ok,” she said.
A neighbour who wished to remain anonymous said the phenomenon could be attributed to new pets in the area. Joseph Ntuli, gardener said he he had never seen anything like this before in his 17 years working at the property.
Professor Barry Lovegrove, a zoologist at UKZN, said while he couldn’t be sure of the cause of death without seeing the moles, the lack of rain could definitely play a role in their death.
“Its very rare to find moles above the surface irrespective of the kind of mole. The only way they find food is by burrowing, so if the soil and ground is too hard, they might only then come to the surface to look for food. Moles cannot handle sudden cold and they won’t have enough energy if they’ve been burrowing through hard soil so they are left exposed and vulnerable to the elements and even pets,” he explained.
UKZN hydrologist, Professor Roland Schulze said he believes we are in a water crisis, “This is the second year in succession that we have received below average rainfall, when rainfall is below average, the run off in rivers is much less. Particularly because it’s second year in a row, and we are only in June, so there is still months before we expect significant rain,” he said.
Schulze encouraged people to conserve water wherever they can. “Be vigilant and careful when gardening and washing cars etc. Jojo tanks can be filled with any light rain to water gardens. Be vigilant and start conserving now so if there are water restrictions, we need to bring them in gradually into our lives,” he added.
