Shrews are tough little characters

LITTLE creatures are often overlooked, while big ones get all the attention. Shrews are a case in point.

These little mammals, with their hectic lifestyles, are more interesting than some with much higher profiles. I hardly ever get queries about them, but recently a reader asked if there are many shrews in Ireland, whether they hibernate and how they live.

Shrew mice or grass mice are not rodents. They belong, with hedgehogs and moles, to one of the most ancient of mammal groups, the insectivores.