Moles

The family of golden moles is made up of 17 species that live in Africa, south of the Sahara. They are not necessarily golden in color, though they do often have a colorful, lustrous sheen to their coats. They are tailless and, unlike true moles, blind. They are born with the remnants of useless eyes, which develop hairy coverings as they mature. The end of a golden mole's nose is leathery to aid in burrowing through the soil, though the primary digging is done by heavy, sharp claws.

Grant's desert golden mole (Eremitalpa granti) of the Namib Desert has only dry sand to dig through. Its meandering burrow collapses behind it as it continually digs. Only if rain has fallen recently does the burrow hold its shape for any length of time. Other golden moles live in moister places where their burrows hold their shape.

The large golden moles of South Africa (Chrysospalax) do not rely solely on ground invertebrates for food. They go to the surface at night to feed, hunting especially for giant worms. The surface may bring danger, however, and a golden mole that finds itself in danger may collapse dramatically, pretending to be dead. The Cape golden mole of Uganda (Chrysochloris stuhlmanni) lives at fairly high altitudes, up to 10,000 ft (3,050 m).