Daily food consumption of captive moles

The quantity of earthworms consumed daily by 4 captive moles was measured for 10 weeks. The gut contents of large earthworms were removed before they were fed to moles and all moles were fed at the same period of the day and ad libitum. The lightest mole consumed a significantly smaller amount of food than each of the heavier ones while each female consumed significantly more food per unit of body weight than males.