Country life
10 things you didn’t know about
WATER VOLES
• There are three species of vole
in Britain, and water voles are
the largest of them all. They are
sometimes mistaken for brown
rats, as the two species often reside
in similar habitats.
• Water voles’ breeding season starts
in March and ends in October.
During this time females are
capable of producing two litters
of pups. Usually, there are two to
eight pups per litter.
• Water voles live in colonies but
tend to spread themselves out
along a riverbank. Males have
larger home ranges than females,
usually between 60-300 metres.
Breeding females occupy between
30-150m, and they defend their
territory fiercely.
• Females mark their territory by
creating latrine sites close to their
burrows and at the boundaries of
their terrain. Their droppings do not
have a smell, so to scent mark their
territories they rub their hind feet
on the scent glands on their chest,
then stamp on their droppings.
• Water voles are diurnal creatures,
meaning they are active during the
day. During the winter they do not
hibernate, but they do spend more
time underground in their burrows,
often banding together with other
voles in the same colony.
• To keep themselves cosy when the
temperature drops, water voles
create chambers in their burrows
and pack them full of food scraps
and excrement. As the material
decomposes, it generates heat,
helping to keep the burrow warm
through the winter.
• The comradery of the winter
months is short lived, and by
February the water voles are back
to their usual territorial selves –
they will sustain this aggression all
through the summer months as this
is when they breed.
• Water voles don’t live that long in
the wild and usually only see two
winters.
• In some parts of the country, water
voles are often termed ‘water dogs’.
• The water vole is Britain’s fastest
declining wild mammal and has
disappeared from many parts of
the country where it was once
common. It is threatened by
habitat loss, but has suffered
particularly from predation by the
introduced American mink. The
Wildlife Trusts are working hard to
save the water vole by improving
riverbank habitats, controlling
mink and facilitating water vole
reintroduction schemes.
Discover more with your local
Wildlife Trust: www.hiwwt.org.uk
Photo: Water Vole by Tom Marshall
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