Michael Kopachena, age 10, of Winnipeg, Man., Canada, for his question:

Why must the little shrew eat so much food?

The shrew is a nervous little animal who hunts restlessly for food day and night. Every day he must devour enough to equal his own weight, and the main reason for this is his small size. Generally in the animal kingdom the amount of food needed depends upon weight compared with surface area. As a rule a dozen small animals need as much food as a big one because it takes more skin to Cover them.

In one or two months an elephant eats enough food to equal his own Weight. He weighs about as much as 125,000 little shrews who need more food in one day than an elephant needs in a month. Now think of the skin needed to cover the elephant and compare it with the extra skin needed to cover all those separate, little shrnts. .each. Shrew needs so much food because of his .large surface area.