With what looks like 22 fleshy worms wriggling in the center of its face, the starnosed mole may be the world’s strangest-looking mammal. The rodent spends much of its time underground, tunneling through the dirt with its outsized feet. It’s dark down there, and the mole doesn’t have strong vision. But the pink tentacles on its nose sense its environment. They poke through the dirt, helping the mole form a picture of its surroundings.
The star-nosed mole is found in wetlands and other places with moist soil in eastern North America. It eats mainly earthworms and insects. But it can also hunt snails, small amphibians, and fish! The star-nosed mole is common, but it’s very hard to spot. That’s because it rarely pokes its head aboveground. Read on to learn more about what makes this mole one of nature’s coolest creatures.