Rare giant mole found only in EC

By Glyn Williams

EAST LONDON -- One of the most mysterious of the world's mammals, indigenous to the Eastern Cape, has been identified by scientists at the museum here.

The rare giant golden mole, (Chrysospalax trevelyani) which lives deep underground, is found only in a small region of Eastern Cape, feeding on the giant earthworms which are themselves a phenomenon of the area.

It seems to surface only in such severe climatic conditions as the recent heavy rains when its runways may become flooded or the earthworms move closer to the surface.

A giant golden mole was killed by a dog at Morgenson farm, Kubusie Drift. The specimen was donated to the taxidermy department of the East London Museum. Taxidermist Greg Brett said similar heavy rains occurred in November 1999, when two specimens were also killed by dogs, at Cintsa West.

Brett said as the moles lived totally underground they were difficult to study and what information there was came from the odd occasions when they surfaced. The manner of their deaths indicated their vulnerability to domestic animals, and could have implications for future management of this rare mammal.

"They are restricted to forest habitat in the region from King William's Town to Port St Johns," Brett writes in the current newsletter of the Friends of the Museum. "It is the terrestrial equivalent in the Eastern Cape of our indigenous freshwater fish, the rocky, which also exists only in this area."

The giant golden mole has been listed as one of the 1 000 rarest animals in the world in the category of being considered endangered and/or declining over most of its range. Conservation is made more difficult because little is known of its breeding habits.

The Chrysospalax trevelyani is by far the largest of the golden moles, and may reach 23cm in length. It is glossy brown and has dull yellowish patches where the eyes should be. They excavate burrows 40cm deep and the mounds of earth which they push up may reach 60cm in diameter.