Vagrant Shrew

The vagrant shrew (Sorex vagrans), also known as the wandering shrew, is a medium-sized North American shrew. At one time, the montane shrew and the Orizaba long-tailed shrew were considered to belong to the same species. == Range and habitat == This animal inhabits open and wooded areas in western Canada and the United States west of the Continental Divide. In Canada, it is found in southern British Columbia, including Vancouver Island, and as far east as extreme south-western Alberta. In the United States, it is found throughout most of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho, as far south as central California, in northern and central Nevada, northern Utah, and western Montana and Wyoming. Their preferred habitat appears to be wet grassland and meadows, ranging from alpine tundra to swampland, and they are often found close to rivers or other sources of water. They are also found in open coniferous forest, but only rarely in dense woodlands. Because they often use fallen logs as cover, they prefer areas with moderate amounts of woody debris, and they may also prefer areas with more acidic soils than other local shrew species. One subspecies is found only in salt marshes. There are three recognised subspecies…