FOSTERING IN EUROPEAN COMMON SHREWS SOREX-ARANEUS (SORICIDAE, INSECTIVORA)

The successful rearing of young Sorer araneus Linnaeus, 1758 by conspe cific foster mothers is reported. Nursing shrews showed no aversion to wards the presence of strange young in the nest, irrespective of age a nd size differences, as well as non-familiar odours of these young. Tw o adults put in the same container with their young showed no signs of aggression, even after successive removal of the young. The observed phenomena suggest that either olfactory cues are not effective at this stage of development or that maternal instinct inhibits the contradic tory information of these cues.