Water vole Arvicola terrestris
Also known as: water rat
massive decline
Best time to see: Mar to end Oct
Key facts
'Ratty' from Wind in the Willows, but really a vole: as large as a rat with a long furry tail and blunt nose
Habitat: wetlands, meadows with tall dense vegetation for cover
Declining rapidly across most of Europe as a result of loss of habitat and predation by american mink
Recognition
Chestnut brown, with a long furry tail and a blunt, whiskered nose; body 12–20cm, tail 8–13cm
Eats mainly grasses, often sitting at the water's edge eating; dives with a sharp plop if disturbed
Clears little 'gardens' in the bankside vegetation with piles of cut stems cut at 45シ angle; leaves droppings about 1cm long outside its burrows
Lifecycle
Makes a nest of grasses in underground burrows with neat round holes, up to 8cm across, just above water level
3–4 litters a year from April to Sept; young are naked and helpless, maturing in about two months
Do not hibernate; life expectancy up to 4 years
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© Ken King