Diet
The northern short-tailed shrew consumes up to three times its weight in food each day. It eats small quantities of subterranean fungi and seeds, though it is mostly carnivorous. It prefers insects, earthworms, voles, snails, and other shrews for the bulk of its diet, though salamanders and mice are also eaten. This shrew consumes vertebrates more often than other shrews do. The shrew mostly forages within a few hours after sunset, though it is also active during cloudy days. High evaporative water loss requires the shrew to have access to a source of water, though it does obtain water from its food, as well. The shrew often hoards food, especially in the fall and winter, or during a time of prey abundance. One study found it caches 87% of the prey it catches, while 9% is eaten immediately and 4% is left where it was killed.
Read more about this topic: Northern Short-tailed Shrew
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