Take a mole out of its hole and it will suffocate. They need to be in tight quarters, unlike us humans. So when you take one out of its nice, safe hole, it thinks it can't breathe and suffocates.

As the mole suffocates it cheats (ちつ) and shoves its head into your closed hand. You realize what it's doing and squeeze your hand tighter so it's more like a hole. You can feel the mole breathing again now.