Glacier Bay Water Shrew
Known from a small part of Southeast Alaska, this rare semi-aquatic shrew swims cold streams on fringed feet and hunts underwater prey.
Artwork inspired by Nathan Jackson
The Glacier Bay water shrew is one of North America’s least familiar mammals. Its known range lies in Southeast Alaska, where it is associated with cold clean streams and wet riparian habitat. Stiff hairs fringe the feet, helping the animal move across and beneath the water surface.
Because records are sparse, absence from a casual survey means little. Water quality, streamside cover, and intact invertebrate communities matter more than a visitor’s chance of seeing one. Trapping and handling belong to permitted research; patient observation of stream edges may reveal movement without disturbance.
- Range
- Southeast Alaska
- Adaptation
- Fringed swimming feet
- Diet
- Aquatic invertebrates
Quick guide
- Watch
- Scan quiet margins of cold streams.
- Do not trap
- Identification requires expert methods and permits.
Read a tiny mammal built for water
- Snout
- Long pointed muzzle projects beyond tiny eyes.
- Feet
- Stiff fringes broaden the hind feet for swimming.
- Coat
- Dense dark fur sheds water and can trap a silvery air layer.
- Motion
- Short fast dives and shoreline cover distinguish it from a small fish.
Good to know
Water shrews are hard to separate in poor views, and this species is known from few specimens. A photograph should be treated as a candidate record for expert review, not a certain identification.
Notice these
- Pointed snout
- Fringed hind feet
- Long tail