Common vole: species description, habitat and interesting facts

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:46

Probably everyone heard about the common vole. This little rodent is the bane of vegetable gardens and industrial farmland. Possessing the ability to reproduce rapidly, the common vole can cause irreparable damage to a household plot in a very short time.

Description and habitat

The common vole belongs to the hamster family. This type of rodent is not distinguished by its large size or remarkable appearance. They closely resemble mice or rats, but have a blunter face and small, rounded ears.

Vole body length is small - only 10-12 cm, tail - up to 5 cm. The maximum weight of a rodent does not exceed 45 g.

The hair on the back, neck and upper part of the head has a gray-brown tint, the abdomen, chin and lower part of the tail are yellowish-gray. Interestingly, with age, the hairline of a vole tends to lighten, and gray hair can often be observed.

Habitat affects forest, forest-steppe and steppe zonesEuropean part of the continent from the shores of the Atlantic to the Altai Mountains. Voles are found in the south of Scandinavia, in Western Siberia and in the Middle Urals. Colonies of these rodents live in the Caucasus, the Balkans, in the Crimea and in the north of Kazakhstan. They feel great in the Mongolian steppes, inhabit Central and Asia Minor.

Despite all human control measures, common voles remain one of the most widespread rodent species.

Common gray vole: behavior and lifestyle features

Field mice live in family communities in which several adult females and 3-4 generations of their offspring coexist. Despite such a peaceful appearance, male voles are very territorial. So, the possessions of one male are about 1-1.5 km in radius and affect several settlements of females.

Voles are very emotional - they can show both friendliness and open aggression. Quarrelsomeness is mainly observed in males, in some cases, mouse fights end in the death of one of the participants.

To maintain a constant body temperature, voles adhere to a certain regime, which has a cyclical nature. For an interval of 3 hours, these babies have time to sleep 2-4 times, clean their coats from 3 to 9 times, and start repairing and expanding their passages from 2 to 6 times. The number of feedings during the same time varies from 6 to 20.

House of the common vole

It's hard to imagine a better architect than the common vole. Description of her homedifficult. The labyrinths of passages are so ornate and thoughtful, as if they were created not by a small gluttonous rodent, but by a team of metro workers.

Each burrow has a network of narrow corridors that lead to several chambers. The purpose of these peculiar rooms is different: some serve as pantries for stocks of grain and other food, while others - for rest and breeding.

The underground home of the vole has several levels: on the top (about 35 cm deep) there are chambers with food, while these mice arrange nests below the floor at a depth of about half a meter.

In winter, the common vole rarely leaves its home. Constantly staying under the ground and snow, this cunning animal took care of the ventilation of its catacombs. For this purpose, voles make narrow (up to 1.5 cm) vertical shafts that can be seen above their colony.

Food

Vole diet can be called quite diverse. These small rodents eat nuts, berries, young shoots and roots of about 80 plant species. On occasion, they will not refuse small insects and snails.

Preference is given to cereals and legumes, and in any form: both young sprouts and mature grains are used. In winter, these well-known agricultural pests often live in the basements of private houses and in granaries, and also like to gnaw the trunks of fruit trees, feeding on their young bark.

The damage that the common vole inflicts annually on gardeners is comparable only to a locust raid. Forultrasonic devices are used to scare away these small rodents, as well as plants, the smell of which they cannot stand. These include mint, thuja, garlic. Many also flood discovered holes with water, but this will not rid the garden of the mouse scourge once and for all.

It is good to make 2-3 poles on the site, which will attract birds of prey, as they will be an excellent observation point for them. For example, an owl can destroy up to 1200 small rodents in a year. What can we say about predatory animals: a ferret is able to catch 10-12 pieces per day.

Reproduction

To say that the common vole is very prolific is to say nothing. The rate of reproduction under favorable conditions is simply amazing.

The mating season begins with the arrival of spring (March-April) and ends in autumn (November). For a year, one female gives birth 3-4 times. Although some colonies that have chosen stacks of hay or a grain barn can breed all year round.

The female's pregnancy lasts about 20 days, then an average of 5-6 mice are born, absolutely helpless and bald. However, vole offspring develop at an incredible rate. Already at the age of 2 months, the cubs become not only completely independent, but also sexually mature.

The life expectancy of a mouse-vole is very short - a rare individual lives to be one year old.

Interesting facts

There is a lot of interesting information about these rodents:

• Common vole goodfloats.
• If the field mouse lives in wetlands, instead of underground holes, it builds round nests of straw or moss on the branches of the bush.
• The pantry of this type of hamster can contain up to 3 kg of various supplies.
• A female vole is able to become pregnant on the 13th day of her life.
• An animal can eat as much food in a day as it weighs itself.
• Vole teeth grow throughout life.

This tiny creature is not only a great digger and a hated rodent: the common vole is an important link in the food chain of a number of predators, many of which are on the verge of extinction. So, in addition to harm, it also brings benefits in some way. Everything in nature is interconnected.