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A wildlife charity has shared footage of a 'knackered' mole swimming in water and trying to reach dry land in a flooded nature reserve.
The small mammal was spotted at Attenborough Nature Reserve on Thursday, January 4, paddling at high speed to stay afloat in floodwaters after Storm Henk swept Britain earlier this week.
A team from Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust monitoring the floods spotted the mole swimming towards them and took the opportunity to film its escape attempts.
The team tried to help the animal, but there was no need as it had found the safety of dry land all by itself, as one of the team can be heard shouting: 'You look devastated.'
The clip was posted to the Trusts' Facebook page and went viral, with people commenting on how cute the brave creature looks as it tries to swim to safety.
The small mammal was spotted at Attenborough Nature Reserve on Thursday, paddling at high speed to stay afloat after Storm Henk soaked Britain earlier this week.
A team from Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust monitoring the floods spotted the mole swimming towards them and took the opportunity to film it as it approached them.
The team tried to help the animal, but it was not necessary as it found the safety of dry land all by itself
The clip was posted to the Trusts' Facebook page and has gone viral, with people commenting on how cute the brave creature looks as it tries to swim to safety
Meanwhile, not all viewers were amused and expressed concerns about the mole's safety
In a post on Facebook, Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust said: '(It's) amazing to see such resilience in a rarely seen species and give hope that wildlife can survive and adapt to these ever-increasing events in light of climate change.'
One user said: 'Go little boy', while another said: 'Look at him, GO!!!'
Meanwhile, not all viewers were amused as one person wrote: “Please tell us it's okay you poor little thing.”
When social media users asked for an update on the safety of the moles, the charity confirmed they had reached dry land
A fourth posted: 'Poor little thing. it is absolutely terrified with no idea what is going on, completely unnatural for him/her'
When social media users asked for an update on the safety of the moles, the charity commented: 'We can confirm the mole was fine.
'The team were monitoring flooding in the reserve and saw the mole, so took the opportunity to film it as it came towards them and tried to help it, but it didn't need any help and found dry land on its own. '
Last month, a mole with shiny golden fur that was thought extinct in 1936 after all traces of the species disappeared was rediscovered on a beach in South Africa.
The blind caveman with 'super hearing powers' known as De Winton's golden mole was rediscovered in Port Nolloth on the west coast of South Africa by a team of researchers from the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) and the University of Pretoria.
The small mammal, about the size of a hamster, spends most of its life underground and avoids people, making it easy to miss.
Researchers began their hunt in 2020 using samples from De Winton's sister species, the endangered Van Zyl's golden mole, to see if the technique was viable.
Gold moles are native to sub-Saharan Africa, and the De Winton's were only ever found in the Port Nolloth area.
Following the successful results of the pilot study, the team headed to the West Coast in 2021 in search of the elusive animal.