Buzz
The Sierra Nevada, a grand mountain range that runs along the eastern side of California, is home to a variety of mammals, from large predators like black bears and mountain lions to smaller creatures such as badgers, skunks, and flying squirrels. Among them is the notoriously reclusive Mount Lyell shrew. As reported by the Smithsonian, this tiny mammal has finally been captured on camera, a century after it was first identified.
In order to snap the historic photos, researchers Vishal Subramanyan, Prakrit Jain, and Harper Forbes devised a strategy. The trio, consisting of students from the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of Arizona, ventured into the Sierra Nevada’s eastern regions, where the Mount Lyell shrew resides. There, they set up 150 pitfall traps, planning to check them every two hours to prevent the shrews, with their extremely fast metabolism, from starving.
The researchers' efforts bore fruit quickly. Subramanyan shared with The San Francisco Standard that they caught a Mount Lyell shrew within just two hours of starting their search. They continued to find more as night fell, braving the cold by checking the traps every couple of hours. Once caught, they transferred the shrews into terrariums with white backgrounds to photograph them. Despite being captured, the creatures remained challenging to photograph as they often scurried around rather than staying still.
The photographs they obtained made history. Prior to this, the Mount Lyell shrew had been the only mammal in California not documented on film. Its small size, under 4 inches long, and subterranean lifestyle had allowed it to avoid detection for many years.
Like many other species, the Mount Lyell shrew faces the threat of climate change. By the 2080s, 89% of its habitat is predicted to disappear. As reported by the University of California, Berkeley, the young researchers hope that the photos will raise awareness about the shrews and their precarious future.
