The hidden architecture of your lawn's most unpopular resident

Nature · Published 28 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Most garden owners view moles as a nuisance, yet these creatures build complex subterranean networks beneath our feet. This film reveals the secret life of an animal we rarely see but constantly feel.

While many animals inhabit gardens, the mole is often the most despised due to its destructive tunneling. The video explores why these creatures consistently return to domestic spaces each spring to establish their underground homes.

Through a combination of overground and impressive underwater-style underground footage, the film illustrates the mole's 'basement apartment.' It highlights the animal's habit of creating long corridors, sleeping areas, and storage spaces that disrupt carefully tended lawns.

General information, not professional advice. Spotted an error? Flag the card or see corrections and complaints.

Intellect Plus is a visual educational discovery platform for exploring fascinating facts and ideas. Brain Food, Not Brain Rot. What is Intellect Plus?

Related

• The subterranean power of the mole's underground empire
• The hidden complexity of life beneath our feet
• The eastern mole is a master of the underground, living almost entirely hidden away.
• Moles stockpile paralysed earthworms in underground larders, sometimes over a thousand at once
• Beyond the surface: why animals build complex underground cities to survive and thrive
• How a young dolphin learns to survive in shark-infested waters
• From hidden fortresses to deceptive disguises: the art of survival
• Can a team of experts outsmart a young black bear seeking honey?
• Survival in the wild is a game of strategy, not just strength
• The precision of nature's most lethal biological weapons
• The Hidden Strategy of Survival: Mastering the Art of Agonism
• The terrifying power of a super-organism in flight

More in Animal behaviour · More in Nature · Latest · A–Z · All topics