poacher3161 1,766 Posted August 21, 2010 Report Share Posted August 21, 2010 Apparently the water shrew has a mild poison in its saliva to help it subdue frogs and other prey its also the largest of our shrews.atb dell Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Malt 379 Posted August 21, 2010 Report Share Posted August 21, 2010 (edited) You are lucky to see such an elusive critter. They are true eating machines and i have only seen 2 in a lifetime spent fishing on rivers,streams and brooks. I will stand corrected but i do not believe shrews found in the UK to be venemous, indeed, none of our mammals are. The water shrew is, and so is the mole.. the moles natural predators are tawny + barn owls, stoats, weasels, foxes, badgers, cats and herons (according to the observers book of wild animals in the british isles) the toxin they carry is only capable of paralysing earthworms! You're right, but that still makes them venomous! There's a difference between being venomous and being poisonous... a wasp is more VENOMOUS than a mole lol! Yes, but my original reply was still correct! PS. An adder shits over any of them when it comes to being venomous . lol Edited August 21, 2010 by maltenby Quote Link to post Share on other sites
CarraghsGem 92 Posted August 21, 2010 Report Share Posted August 21, 2010 Apparently the water shrew has a mild poison in its saliva to help it subdue frogs and other prey its also the largest of our shrews.atb dell Eurasian Water Shrew From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Eurasian Water Shrew The Eurasian Water Shrew, Neomys fodiens, known in the United Kingdom as the Water Shrew, is a relatively large shrew, up to 10 centimetres (4 in) long, with a tail up to three-quarters as long again. It has short dark fur, often with a few white tufts, a white belly, and a few stiff hairs around the feet and tail. It lives close to fresh water, hunting its invertebrate prey in the water and nearby. Its fur traps bubbles of air in the water which greatly aids its buoyancy, but requires it to anchor itself if it wishes to remain underwater for more than the briefest of dives. Like many shrews the Water Shrew has venomous saliva, making it one of the few venomous mammals, although it is not able to puncture the skin of large animals such as humans. Highly territorial, it lives a solitary life and is found throughout northern Eurasia, from Ireland to North Korea. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tallyho 181 Posted August 22, 2010 Author Report Share Posted August 22, 2010 So does it have venom or no ? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
CarraghsGem 92 Posted August 22, 2010 Report Share Posted August 22, 2010 So does it have venom or no ? yes but not in any quantity that would harm a human in ordinary circumstances! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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