Mole

The common mole is perhaps the least seen and most poorly understood of UK wildlife. An animal rescuer friend once told me they have little success with their rehabilitation: of all creatures the mole most needs his own, entirely non-human environment. And yet his surprisingly prominent position in English folklore suggests we have long been discomfited by this very unknowability.  From the content of some of these stories, historically it seems we have been particularly disturbed by the striking similarity of his forepaws to our own.

Here in death (he was killed by a terrier) he is more visible, and even less knowable. His hand reminds me of my father’s – a lifetime spent digging in the soil - and I see it perhaps as a sort of warning about our own terrifying disconnection from the living, breathing world. After this image was taken, I wrapped his body in a shroud and returned it to the earth from which he had come.

I am delighted that this portrait of a Mole’s forepaw has been published in Dark Mountain, Issue 29, Bestiary. The link to buy this beautiful hard back publication can be found here.