Vagrant Shrew

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iVagrant Shrew
Conservation status
Least concern (LR/lc)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Insectivora Family: Soricidae Genus: Sorex Species: S. vagrans
Binomial name
Sorex vagrans (Baird, 1857)

The Vagrant Shrew, Sorex vagrans, is a medium-sized North American shrew. At one time, the Montane Shrew (S. monticolus) was considered to belong to the same species as this animal.

It is red brown in colour with greyer underparts and a long tail which is sometimes paler underneath. During winter, its fur is dark brown. Its body is about 10 cm in length including a 4 cm long tail and it weighs about 6 g.

These animals are found in open and wooded areas in western Canada and the United States west of the Continental Divide.

They often use runways created by voles. Their diet includes insects, earthworms, salamanders, small mammals and some plant material. Predators include owls, snakes and mustelids. This animal sometimes uses echolocation to orient itself in unfamiliar locations.

These animals are active year-round, mainly at night. They are mainly solitary except during breeding which mainly occurs in the spring. The female has 1 or 2 litters of 3 to 8 young in a nest in a stump or under a log.

[edit] References

• Insectivore Specialist Group (1996). Sorex vagrans. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 09 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern