Small and cryptic, shrews and moles represent some of the most obscure and least familiar of any British Columbian mammals. Rarely observed by the general public or naturalists, human encounters are typically limited to kills brought in by the family cat or a dead animal found by chance. Despite the new focus on small mammals in biodiversity studies by provincial wildlife and forestry agencies, only a few of the province's shrews or moles have received any detailed study?a contrast with the effort directed at other small mammals. Much remains to be learned about their distribution, habitat requirements, breeding biology and taxonomy in the province. This book will stimulate more attention for these much-neglected mammals.

David W. Nagorsen's profile page

Nick Panter's profile page

David W. Nagorsen is a research associate at the Royal BC Museum and the Royal Ontario Museum. He has more than 30 years' experience as a mammalogist' carrying out research, fieldwork, endangered species conservation, public education, and environmental assessments as a museum biologist and wildlife consultant. His interest in shrews and moles began in the early 1970s while working on a small mammal population study. He has authored or co-authored five handbooks on the province's mammals and many scientific papers and reports.

Nick Panter is a retired biologist and an active volunteer at the Royal British Columbia Museum. He has worked preparing specimens and managing museum mammal collections starting at the University of Alberta, where he first became interested in shrews, and continuing at the Royal BC Museum. He collaborated in small mammal research with David Nagorsen and others over a period of 25 years. This work was mainly focused on the shrews of British Columbia and has resulted in a series of scientific publications and government reports.