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What Do Voles Look Like? Animaflora / GETTY IMAGES. Slightly larger than moles, voles are 5 to 8 inches long and resemble field mice with short tails, compact heavy bodies, small eyes, and ...
Voles thrive on small plants yet, like shrews, they will eat dead animals and, like mice and rats, they can live on almost any nut or fruit. In addition, voles target plants more than most other small animals, making their presence evident. Voles readily girdle small trees and ground cover much like a porcupine. This girdling can easily kill ...
The common vole is hardly restricted in means of distribution and habitat and inhabits large areas of Eurasia but, apart from the Orkney vole, not the British Isles, where it is replaced by the related field vole, Microtus agrestis. As Microtus arvalis followed human civilization, primary and secondary habitats can be distinguished.
Typical eastern meadow vole litters consist of four to six young, with extremes of one and 11 young. On average, 2.6 young are successfully weaned per litter. Litter size is not significantly correlated with latitude, elevation, or population density. Fall, winter, and spring litters tend to be smaller than summer litters.
The taiga vole cannot go more than 24 hours without eating or they can starve to death. [6] They do not have complex metabolisms designed for fasting. [6] They can consume all of their liver glycogen in 4 hours or less. They do not use torpor like many other small rodents do, so they must find other ways to slow the basal metabolic rate. [6]
Because they feed on roots and tubers, voles do not need to drink water much. [3] Voles cache food, primarily during the winter. [5] Voles spend most of their time underground in their burrow systems and seldom venture into the surface. This makes them safe from hawks and owls. [4] Other predators of voles include snakes, weasels and mountain ...
Voles frequently experience surges in population growth and are considered pests, so having new predators such as California ground squirrels will help keep vole numbers under control, he said.
Northern red-backed voles live in a variety of northern forest and shrubland habitats. [2] [4] They occur in every major forest type in central Alaska. [5]Plant species commonly found in areas occupied by northern red-backed voles include black spruce (Picea mariana), white spruce (Picea glauca), quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides), paper birch (Betula papyrifera), alder (Alnus spp.), willow ...