DONNELLY FLATS — I have a shrew in my house. Actually it's in my shop.
One of my buddies was incredulous. "You actually let your wife in your shop?" Yeah, I do, but the shrew I'm speaking of is the size of a medium grape and weighs about as much as a dime. The word, "shrew", comes from old English, "shrewe" and it can mean either the animal or an "ill-tempered, scolding person."
In all likelihood, the "scolding" comes from the shrew's habit of squeaking and screeching while it moves about. Shrews can't see well and thus use sound to help in its movements. They have an excellent sense of hearing and smell. They generally locate prey that way.
Shrews are insectivores. They eat bugs and spiders around the house. Most need to eat double their body weight every 24 hours. They can starve in as little as five hours if they don't eat. If no insects or larvae are available, some shrews will eat grain. And they'll eat meat of any kind, including each other.
The shrew that is in my shop lives there because that is where the meat we feed to our dogs is thawed. Every day is Thanksgiving for him. He pays us little mind. I can pick him up and when I put him down, he continues about his business as if there had been no interruption.
There are at least a dozen types of shrews in Alaska. Four or five of them are relatively common. Most live outside under the snow, only venturing inside when there is little cover. Sometimes in years of heavy snow, the carbon dioxide build-up in their underground tunnels will also bring them to the surface. Either way, they aren't much of a problem around the house, though if there is a heavy infestation, feces contamination could be an issue.
Shrews have three or four litters a year. Young ones are on their own in less than a month. Occasionally the young will caravan with mom — each baby hanging onto the tail of the one in front of them. I saw that one time in the basement of my Paxson house; the family was headed to a box of frozen fish.
The shrew life cycle is not well known. They are tough little guys to study and always on the go, rarely sleeping. Scientists believe they only live a year or two. Plenty of predators could feast on them, but few seem to. In fact, it's common to see dead shrews lying around that have been killed by other animals and not eaten. Cat owners often see their animal playing with a dead shrews but not eating them. That may be because shrews have extremely powerful scent glands that make them unpalatable, though owls will chow down when shrews are available. The pet ermines I had as a kid would kill them and haul them back to the house, but I never saw an ermine eat one. One species of water shrew are commonly taken by pike and trout.
Given their limited value as food, the shrew seems to be most valuable in helping control insects. If one isn't partial to spiders, then a family of these little critters might be nice to have around the house. Some Europeans believed shrews caused pain in animals. Many folks think they carry diseases.
The reality is that there is nothing documented of shrews passing on anything to humans. The shrew in my workshop looks like a marble with a tail. There has been no meat thawing the past 24 hours, and I haven't seen my little buddy yet today. Wonder if he starved to death overnight?
John Schandelmeier is a lifelong Alaskan who lives with his family near Paxson. He is a Bristol Bay commercial fisherman and two-time winner of the Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race.