I have been catching short tailed shrews in a rat trap baited with peanut butter and a kernel of corn. I know or thought shrews are insectivores and would rather not catch them but always get some in traps baited with peanut butter. I always figured they somehow knew it was protein. Well today I had to literally pry one’s jaws open because they were latched on the corn kernel. I have a hole drilled in it and wired to the trigger. So even shrews are going vegan on us.

I caught a little one yesterday
in my shop....

I catch ALLOT of shrews on my mouse line. All with peanut butter. Hate them litte suckers they chew up mice in the traps.

Most animals seem to like peanut butter.

I have caught countless shrews with peanut butter over the years.

I catch shrews with no bait.

My point is this shrew was pulling on the kernel of corn when the trap went off, it was in its mouth when I removed it. Shrews are supposed to be insectivores.

What supposed to be, aint always is. One of my translations form long time ago......jk

Good point jk, like when deer was seen standing in a stream with a trout in it’s mouth.

They're transitioning

Did anyone read the article about whitetail deer eating baby birds out of the nest? Someone was doing a study on songbird mortality/predation and had cameras on nests in bushes. On 4 different occasions whitetails were filmed eating baby birds. Maybe they are transitioning, too.

I think it's called easy opportunity. Haven't any of you guys ever seen coyotes or dogs eating crab apple? Watched squirrels eat baby birds. I caught big fat vole in other day in snap trap with peanut butter. Don't see many shrews here but have caught few in peanut butter traps in past. Guess it depends on how hungry a critter is as to who eats what.

Mac

An animal's primary food source isn't always its only food source. Especially if they're desperate. I've seen videos of half-starved city cattle in India eating chickens. Less dramatic examples are bison eating buckbrush berries or buffalobur seeds in winter. My dogs always eat the walnuts in my driveway that get cracked under tires. Every summer when the wild plums are ripe, every single coyote scat is almost exclusively plum pits.

I once had a cat that ate cracked corn.

This buck was eating the heck out of my bullhead piles.