The bank vole is the most common subspecies of forest voles. Animals make up the main branch of the food chain for predators and birds. This cute rodent is recognized as a major pest to forest crops and parks. The vole is dangerous to humans, as it carries a life-threatening infection.
Characteristic
The head of the animal is small, with a seal in the fronto-parietal region. The facial section is lowered down with narrowed nasal bones. The zygomatic arches are low. The eyes of the animal are black, slightly protruding. The roots of the teeth of the animal are formed earlier than in other representatives of the species, and have thin enamel. The eardrums are small, but this does not affect the sensitive hearing of the rodent.
The color of the bank vole can vary from light red to rusty. The tail is white at the bottom and dark at the top. The surface of the vole's tail appears bald, but it is actually covered with a thin layer of short hairs, between which skin scales are visible. The size of the animal rarely reaches more than 120 mm, and the tail - no more than 65 mm. In appearance, the mouse resembles a cute and harmless creature, but when you meet such an animal, it is better to becareful, because the bank vole has sharp teeth and will defend itself in case of danger.
Lifestyle
The bank vole, the photo of which can be seen in this article, often lives in deciduous forests. He likes to settle on the edges and woodlands. In taiga zones, he likes to live in berry spruce forests. In the south, small animals prefer to inhabit forest islands near fields, where they willingly go to feed. In the north, the bank vole prefers to coexist with humans, inhabiting houses and barns.
In the Urals, the animal chooses the most non-standard way of life among the stones. If a person saw a vole, then he can be completely sure that several animals live around. The rodent never lives alone, but chooses a couple or a whole family. The vole is the most active mouse, it spends most of the time on the move and can only rest a little at night. These mice are quite lazy in terms of home improvement. Contrary to opinions, this cute animal rarely digs holes for itself, and if it does, it is completely shallow, which makes the vole an easy prey for predators. Usually the animals build a dwelling, making a small litter among the roots of trees, brushwood, under fallen trees. Sometimes the smartest mice climb trees and settle in bird nests.
Reproduction and offspring
The bank vole, whose offspring can feel safe in a large family, breeds only if there is enough food. If the animal feelssafety and comfort, it is able to produce offspring at the age of 30 days. This is even before they reach puberty. Basically, the animals begin to breed 50-60 days after birth.
In one year, a female can produce 4 litters of small rodents. On average, their number is from 6 to 13 cubs. And if we imagine that there is more than one bank vole in the family, the offspring, no matter how much, can fill a small area of \u200b\u200bthe forest. The gestation period of the animal lasts half a month. Cubs are born naked and blind weighing 10 grams each. Within two weeks after birth, babies can safely leave the shelter and can already eat on their own. This type of rodent breeds in spring, summer and winter.
Food
In all seasons, the vole's favorite delicacy is the seeds of branchy plants. Also, the diet of rodents includes green parts of plants and insects. In winter, voles prefer to gnaw on the roots of trees and shoots of berry bushes.
These little animals do not make stocks, therefore, if necessary, they can eat whatever they find. Therefore, in winter they often prefer a human dwelling, in which every day there is something to eat. If the rodent lives in the forest, then all winter it is able to feed on the roots of a tree, which leads to the death of the plant. That is why bank voles are considered the main pests of forest areas.
Habitat
The bank vole, whose characteristics showthat the animal is unpretentious, lives in almost every corner of the planet. The range stretches from Scotland and Scandinavia to southern Italy, Turkey and Yugoslavia.
Also, a small animal can be found in all regions of Russia. Unfortunately, not all voles are able to survive in cold climates, but this does not in the least reduce their total number. Also, voles are the main diet for predatory animals, which support their populations.
The main enemies of the animal
- Tawny Owl. It is a large bird with strong wings and powerful hearing. She is able to catch the movement of a vole even under a large layer of snow. Thanks to tenacious paws, the tawny owl dives into the snow and takes out prey. Thanks to the bank voles, this predator survives the winter without knowing hunger.
- Weasel. This flexible predator is able to chase a vole due to its small size and briskness. The weasel rodent is the main diet in winter.
- Kestrel. The red falcon mainly hunts gray voles, but does not refuse the red representatives of the species.
- Marten. In summer, this animal can eat berries and insects, but in winter, field mice are the main diet for the marten. On average, an adult marten can even attack a squirrel, but this is much more difficult than finding a small rodent under the snow floor.
Malware
The red-backed vole (systematics classifies it as a rodent) is the main pest of forests. During the increase in numbersrodents they actually destroy the gardens and young trees of reserves.
Animals living near the fields cause great harm to the crop, polluting and often infecting it with various viral infections, which requires human control of the animal population. If voles start living next to humans, they often contaminate food and livestock feed. The rodent also causes a lot of trouble, spoiling things and gnawing through loopholes. In Europe, infection with hemorrhagic fever and outbreaks of renal syndrome are common. It is this subspecies of the vole that is the carrier of the dangerous hantavirus that causes diseases such as salmonellosis, tularemia, and pseudotuberculosis. Therefore, people in agricultural areas try to get rid of mice as much as possible by introducing specialized poison and pesticides into holes.
Despite the fact that the bank vole is a pest that destroys crops and damages forests, the animal becomes an integral part of the survival of forest predators. Bank voles never hibernate. Their activity in winter never decreases, they are able to exist for a long time under the cover of snow. This gives predators an advantage in finding food in the cold winter.
