John Carreiro, age 8, of Trumbull, Conn., for his question:

HOW DOES A MOLE MAKE TUNNELS?

Largest mole in the world is the Russian desman which  grows to about 14 inches in length including his tail. He  lives in southeastern Europe and in central western Asia.   Smallest species are the long tailed moles of the Pacific  Coast of North America and the shrew moles of Asia. These   mammals measure about five inches in length including their   tails.     Perhaps the world's fastest and most tireless digger is  the mole. He's a small, thick bodied mammal that lives   underground.

A mole's body is well suited for burrowing. The mole has a pointed nose that is rather narrow and a wedge shaped head. Especially prominent are the large forelegs. The front paws turn outward and have long, broad nails. The hind legs are short and powerful.

A mole's forelegs work very much like shovels, scooping out the earth as he makes tunnels. He works swiftly and continues with his digging for long periods of time without rest.

Almost blind, the mole has tiny eyes shaded by overhanging skin and fur. Although he does not have external ears, he can hear very well.

You can recognize a mole's home by the mound of earth above it. This is much larger than the mound a mole makes when he is digging for food. Worms and insects are the chief items in a mole's diet and he will seldom eat plants. His diggings, however, often spoil gardens and fields, and farmers often have to set traps in the moles' tunnels.

The common mole can be found in the Eastern, Southwestern and Midwestern parts of North America. He's between five and eight inches in length which includes his one¬inch tail. He's a lightweight, tipping the scales between two and five ounces. He tunnels near the surface when he's looking for food and builds his nest about one foot underground.

In the southeastern part of Canada and in the eastern part of the United States as far south as Georgia you'll find the star nosed mole. This animal has a long, hairy tail and is blackish brown. He lives near water and usually builds his home in the damp, muddy earth found along the shore of a brook or a pond. Unlike the common mole who spends almost his entire life underground, the star nosed mole comes out of the ground from time to time to prove that he's an expert swimmer.

The European mole builds more complicated homes 'than does his North American relative. He constructs a central chamber that is connected to a number of smaller, round rooms. Passageways extend from the rooms in all directions. One of the passages, called the bolt run, is used as a fast exit in case of an emergency.

Three or four babies are born to mother moles early each spring.