Behavior
Arctic shrews are solitary animals. Adults are territorial. In one laboratory study, whenever two arctic shrews were placed together in a cage, one was dead within several days, though there was no sign of injury to the dead shrew and the cause for this mortality is unclear, however the result of this forced interaction has been repeatedly observed. Arctic shrews are active during day and night, though there are contradicting reports on levels and cycles of activity throughout the day. One claim is that they are least active during mid-morning, while other reports describe alternating periods of activity and rest, with an average of fourteen periods of activity daily. Arctic shrews are very active and move quickly. Periods of inactivity are spent lying on the ground, either on one side or with the ventral side down, body rolled up, and head tucked under the body. Grooming consists of wiping the forefeet rapidly along the mouth.
Like all shrews, the Arctic Shrew has a voracious and insatiable appetite due to its quick metabolism. It eats insects, worms and small invertebrates, with a large proportion of its diet made up of larch sawflies, though arctic shrews in captivity have been fed dead voles fly pupae, and mealworms. The only known predators of arctic shrews are owls.
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