Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. a small brown shrew is about 1/3 of the size of the blue-gloved human hand it is sitting on. In preparation for winter, the common ...

“Shrews have adapted incredible mechanisms for survival,” she said. They’re even equipped with scent glands on their sides that emit a “repulsive odor” to repel many predators, she added. A cat, ...

Common shrews are one of only a handful of mammals known to flexibly shrink and regrow their brains. This rare seasonal cycle, known as Dehnel’s phenomenon, has puzzled scientists for decades. How can ...

Some mammals hibernate to survive in winter, but the Eurasian common shrew (Sorex araneus) employs Dehnel's phenomenon to get through it. This is a metabolic process that enables shrews to conserve ...