Mole Miner

Mole Miners are enemies appearing in Donkey Kong Country Returns and Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D. They only appear in Crazy Cart and the Cave area of Donkey Kong Island, but they are very common in this area. They are the ones who constructed all of the rails and mine carts in the Cave, and they can frequently be found riding these carts. They also sometimes tie balloons to themselves so they can ride in the air. Mole Guards are Mole Miners that throw bombs at the Kongs. Mole Guards are seen in a minecart on a different track than the Kongs.

They later appear during the boss level, assisting Mole Miner Max and attempting to stop Donkey and Diddy Kong from reaching him but failing. At the beginning of the level, Mole Miners are found loading bananas into the Mole Train, and one of them is eating a sandwich.

Appearance
As their name suggests, they heavily resemble real moles. They are all brown in color and have pink paws. Their headlamps cover their eyes, and they appear to have freckles on the sides of their faces. They also have stubby little tails and one large tooth sticking out of their mouths.

Attacks
Mole Miners carry axes, which they use to attack. They are only a small threat and are easy to avoid. In the Mine Cart levels, the only attack they have is to simply go the wrong way, so the Kongs must jump over (or on top of) them. In Mole Patrol, where they attach balloons to themselves, the only attack they have is to swing a pickaxe which can harm the Kongs. However, the balloon can easily be popped when touched.