Forest habitats of the bank vole. Bank vole (Clethrionomys glareolus). The benefits and harms of the field mouse

The field mouse is a small rodent distributed throughout the world. Refers to the most numerous species of mammals - mouse classification. There are more than 100 species on earth. They adapt perfectly to any living conditions. There are no mice only high in the mountains, in areas covered with ice.

Appearance

Little animal called differently: field vole, meadow vole, little vole, striped vole. The appearance is familiar to everyone, since field mice are frequent cohabitants of people. In cold weather or with the onset of other unfavorable conditions V natural environment moving into barns, warehouses, sheds, outbuildings, and houses. They often live in gardens, vegetable gardens, and personal plots.

Description field mouse:

• The maximum body length is no more than 12 cm, the average size is 10 cm excluding the tail. The thin tail makes up 70% of the body length.
• The body is oblong, the hind feet are elongated. When running, they always come forward.
• Long muzzle, small round ears, oblong nose.

The appearance is very attractive, harmless, cute. The red nose is especially interesting. does not differ from the general proportions of most species of these rodents.

The coat is short, hard and uneven in color. The belly is always lighter, the back has a black stripe. You can distinguish a vole by the stripe on its back. Coat color varies depending on the region. The vole mouse can be gray, brown, ocher, or red. IN summer period darker, begins to change towards winter. Below are field mice in the photo; you can clearly see the differences between the animal and other rodents.

Interesting!

The unique teeth of a vole grow throughout its life. Except for a row of small teeth on the upper jaw. On lower jaw there is a pair of long incisors. They appear in the second month of a mouse’s life and grow by 1-2 mm every day. To prevent excessive growth of teeth, rodents are forced to constantly grind them down. They bite hard objects that they have no idea nutritional value, but surrounding them.

It’s not hard to guess how much a small animal weighs. The small animal gains weight no more than 30 g. On average, a field mouse weighs 20 g.

Food cravings

What the field mouse eats interests most of the population. Because pests chew on almost everything - wood, concrete structures, bricks. Some are plastic, rubber and other synthetic materials.

Lifestyle

In countries with warm climate meadow mouse is active all year round. In our area, with the onset of cold weather, mice do not hibernate, but the process of reproduction of the new generation slows down. Relatively well tolerated low temperature. They can safely spend the winter on the field.

How field mice overwinter depends on the objects surrounding them and natural conditions. In the warm season, rodents live in the field, with an increase in numbers, the onset of unfavorable weather, disasters - fire, drought, flood, premature frosts, they settle in gardens and vegetable gardens. Each individual makes its home at a depth of about 1 m; in winter it goes down to 3 m. Usually the meadow mouse spends the winter in a hole.

Interesting!

The vole's abode includes a nest where pups are born and mature, several chambers with food supplies, and labyrinths of passages with obligatory access to water.

In addition to the burrow, wintering occurs in haystacks, haystacks left on the field, stacks, barns, sheds, and outbuildings. The bravest or most arrogant sneak into the house. The question of where voles live in winter can be answered ambiguously - wherever possible.

Hibernation is not typical for the field mouse. The rodent living in our area cannot hibernate. If there is not enough food, if the animal was unable to store food, it risks dying. In winter, it occasionally comes to the surface during a thaw.

On a note!

Some species of voles sleep in winter and can wake up when it gets warmer. They prefer to sleep in a hole. They begin to accumulate useful substances in the summer, a layer of fat is deposited, which disappears during the winter.

Features of behavior

Field mice are extremely active and mobile, which is due to their metabolic characteristics. The rodent eats about 6 times per day, but quickly uses up energy. Can't stand hunger, even more thirst. Without food or water, it lives no more than a week.

They adapt well to new conditions. They move along mastered lines, defined trajectories. They mark their territory with urine. Activities intensify with the onset of darkness. They are active during the day in dark rooms.

Mice are extremely cautious, which makes them shy in the eyes of humans. The slightest rustle or sound makes the rodent run for cover and hide in a hole. Enemies of mice: lizards, snakes, rats, dogs, cats, wild animals. Danger lurks at every step. The list of who eats the field mouse can go on for a long time.

The small rodent tries not to run far from the hole, moving away by 1 m. It prefers to move in the shade, under bushes, in tall grass. Each individual is assigned its territory. They live in flocks, where there is a leader - a male, and several dominant females.

On a note!

Life expectancy in wildlife is 1 year, although according to genetic data they can live up to 7 years. The predators who hunt field mice every day are to blame for everything. How long they live in artificial conditions depends on the conditions of detention, proper nutrition. Average age is 3 years.

Features of reproduction

The field mouse becomes sexually mature after 3 months. A young female gives birth to from 1 to 3 cubs, an adult – up to 12 in one litter. Pregnancy lasts about 25 days.

The cubs are born blind, naked, absolutely helpless. A photo of field mice after birth is presented below. The female takes care of the young offspring for up to 1 month, then the young are expelled. They arrange their own housing and get food.

9-10 days after birth, the mouse is again ready for fertilization. Reproduces new offspring up to 4 times per year. The favorable period for this begins in May and lasts until October.

Sabotage

A field mouse can cause enormous damage agriculture. It digs numerous holes in the fields, damages ears of wheat, and leaves mounds of earth. As a result, this makes harvesting difficult and the grain loses its marketable appearance.

Settling in barns, warehouses, and other premises where people began to store cereals, grain, flour, mice eat a third of the reserves over the winter. The product is contaminated with feces and urine. There is an unpleasant mouse smell in the room.

On a note!

The vole doesn't bite. When he sees a person, he tries to quickly hide. But, when driven into a corner, it is capable of piercing with sharp teeth. Dangerous due to the spread of viral, bacterial, fungal infections, tularemia, plague, fever, rabies.

Rodent control

An increase in the number of mice in the field threatens serious losses for agricultural workers. No less damage from rodents in the garden. To destroy pests, poisonous baits are used. They are fighting. Products with a strong odor are used indoors. Preventive measures are also important.

The top is rusty brown in various shades. The tail is two-colored, dark at the top and whitish at the bottom. The surface of the tail is covered with short hairs, sparsely spaced, so that skin scales are visible between them.

Skull with a juvenile appearance: a rounded brain capsule with a slight flattening in the frontoparietal region and a shortened, downward-sloping facial region and nasal bones narrowed in the middle. The arches of the cheekbones are low. Medium sized ear drums. The angular section of the mandibular bone is not shortened. The roots of molars form earlier than in other species. The chewing surfaces of the triangular loops and the loops themselves have sharpened corners and a relatively thin enamel lining.

Biology

Lifestyle. Mass view linden-oak biotopes wide deciduous forests. In the taiga zone it prefers berry spruce forests and clearings bordering them. Avoids forests with tightly closed stands and inhabits forest edges and woodlands.

In the east of the range, preference is given to light secondary forests and coniferous edges, preferably overgrown with shrubs. The species is common in floodplain plantations.

In the south it is found in island forests and shelterbelts. From the forest belts it comes out into the fields to feed, but does not move further than 100 - 150 m from the edge.

In the European north, the bank vole often inhabits outbuildings and human housing. IN winter time animals are found in stacks and stacks. IN Ural mountains together with other forest voles, it inhabits scattered stones.

The species lives in pairs or families. Activity is year-round, around the clock, polyphasic. During the daylight hours, up to 17 phases of activity are observed.

It usually does not dig real holes; if there are any, they are very short and shallow. Mines forest floor and a layer of turf. Widely uses voids in the roots of tree stumps, in dead trunks, under inversions, and in piles of brushwood. Winter and summer ground and subsurface nests located in natural shelters are common for the species.

Animals climb trees better than other species forest voles, are capable of climbing to a height of up to 12 m. There are known cases of nesting and the birth of young in bird houses - nest boxes.

Reproduction and the abundance of the species is closely related to the abundance of complete food. In favorable conditions, 50% of animals are able to reproduce at the age of 26 - 30 days, and by 46 - 50 days, all 100% of individuals reach sexual maturity. One female brings up to 4 litters per year, more often 2 - 3 litters. There are from 5 to 13 cubs in a litter. Pregnancy lasts 17 - 24 days.

The cubs are born naked and blind, weigh from 1 to 10 g and gain sight at 10 - 12 days. On the 14th - 15th day they leave the hole, but switch to green food even earlier.

Spring-summer voles reproduce and die before the onset of winter. Animals born in August - September give birth in the spring, but do not participate in summer reproduction.

IN winter period reproduction is observed during snowy winters without sudden temperature changes.

Nutrition. In all seasons, the diet of the species is dominated by seeds of herbaceous and woody plants deciduous forests. It prefers the seeds of acorns and linden, in the east - cedar and berry bushes. Green parts of plants are present in food throughout the growing season. Animal feed, mainly larvae of various insects, are present in the diet in summer months. In winter, the main food is shoots of berry bushes, bark, and buds. If the main feed fails, it switches to any substitutes, including mushrooms and plant roots. Makes small reserves.

Morphologically related species

According to morphology ( appearance) the described pest is close to ( Clethrionomysrutilus). The main differences: a slightly two-color tail, the skin does not show through the hairs of the tail, the length of the tail is less than 40 mm, the color of the dorsal part is dominated by bright rusty-brown tones in summer and light, yellowish-brown in winter.

In addition, the Tien Shan forest vole is often found, which is also close in morphology to the bank vole ( Clethrionomys glareolus).

At the same time, the following geographical variability is observed: the development of brighter tones of red color in the direction from west to east and a general lightening of the color to the south; an increase in size is observed in east direction in lowland areas and with altitude (in Western Europe). In the east of the range, mountain inhabitants are smaller than lowland inhabitants and have a darker color. The relative length of the dentition becomes shorter in the direction from north to south.

15 subspecies have been described, of which 5 - 6 are in Russia.

Geographical distribution

Bank vole distributed from Kola Peninsula and the Arkhangelsk region to the Middle Urals in the east and the borders of the island forests of Ukraine and Southern Urals on South.

In addition, the species' range extends north to Scotland and Scandinavia, to the Pyrenees in the south, southern Italy, Yugoslavia and Turkey.

Maliciousness

Bank vole- the most dangerous hemisynanthropic species, actively penetrating into the urban environment, and at the same time inhabiting not entirely favorable biotopes - dry meadows. This increases the possibility of transmitting various types of infections to humans and requires constant monitoring of the species’ population in order to regulate it.

In the taiga zone of the European part of Russia, this species is the main pest of forest and plantation crops. During a periodic (once every 4-5 years) increase in numbers, the animals significantly damage young forest plantations and gardens adjacent to forests. Due to the ability to climb trees well, it causes damage above ground level.

In residential premises, warehouses and storage facilities, the bank vole damages and contaminates food and animal feed.

In European foci of hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS), this species is the main carrier of hantaviruses. At the same time, he is an active participant in the circulation of pathogens of various infectious diseases: tularemia, tick-borne encephalitis, lymphocytic choriomeningitis, salmonellosis, pseudotuberculosis and many others.

Pesticides

Chemical pesticides

Manual introduction into holes, other shelters, tubes, bait boxes:

Layout of ready-made baits in food enterprises and in everyday life:

Control measures: deratization measures

Sanitary and epidemiological well-being is due to the successful implementation of the entire complex of deratization measures, including organizational, preventive, exterminatory and sanitary educational measures to combat rodents.

Organizational events include a complex following measures:

• administrative;
• financial and economic;
• scientific and methodological;
• material.

Preventive actions are designed to eliminate favorable living conditions for rodents and exterminate them using the following measures:

• engineering and technical, including the use of various devices that automatically prevent rodents from accessing premises and communications;
• sanitary and hygienic, including maintaining cleanliness in the premises, basements, and areas of the facilities;
• agro- and forestry engineering, including measures for the cultivation of forests in recreational areas to the state of forest parks and maintaining these areas in a state free from weeds, fallen leaves, dead and drying trees; This same group of activities includes deep plowing of the soil in the fields;
• preventive deratization, including measures to prevent the restoration of the number of rodents using chemical and mechanical means.

The task of carrying out this group of activities lies with legal entities and individual entrepreneurs operating specific facilities and the surrounding territory.

These events are held legal entities And individual entrepreneurs with special training.

Order - Rodents / Family - Hamsters / Subfamily - Voles

History of the study

Red (forest) vole, or European bank vole, or European wood vole(lat. Myodes glareolus) is a species of rodent of the genus of forest voles.

Spreading

The bank vole is common in lowland, foothill and mountain forests of Europe, northern Asia Minor and Siberia. In Europe it is found from Southern Ireland, the British Isles, the central and eastern Pyrenees to the Black Sea regions of Turkey; distributed almost everywhere except Spain, the southern part of the Apennine and Balkan Peninsula and northern Scandinavia (Lapland). Lives isolated in southwestern Transcaucasia (Adzhar-Imereti ridge). The northern border of the range generally coincides with the border of forest distribution; southern - with the northern border of the forest-steppe. It penetrates into the tundra and steppe through floodplain forests of river valleys.

Appearance

Small mouse-like rodent: body length 8-11.5 cm, tail length 3-6 cm. Weight 17-35 g. The color of the back fur is rusty brown. The belly is grayish-whitish. The tail is usually sharply two-colored - dark on top, whitish below, covered with short sparse hair. Winter fur is lighter and redder than summer fur. The color generally becomes lighter and yellower towards the south and redder towards the east. Body size increases to the northeast, decreasing in the mountains. There is no clear sexual dimorphism either in body size or in the structure of the skull. Up to 35 subspecies have been described, of which 5-6 live in Russia.

Reproduction

Breeding period (in middle lane) begins in March - April, sometimes still under snow, and ends in August - September. The female brings 3-4 broods per year, 5-6 cubs each (maximum 10-13). Pregnancy lasts from 17 to 24 days (during lactation). Cubs are born blind and naked, weighing 1-10 g; they begin to see the light in 10-12 days. On the 14-15th day they leave the hole, but begin to eat green food even earlier. For most females, the lactation period is combined with the next pregnancy. A few days before giving birth, the female leaves the brood for another burrow, and after 5 days the brood breaks up into groups, and by the month of life it moves on to a completely independent life. Females are able to become pregnant as early as 2-3 weeks; males reach sexual maturity at 6-8 weeks of age. In European forests, underyearlings of the first litter manage to produce up to 3 broods over the summer, the second - 1-2, and the third (in favorable years) - 1. In the east, only underyearlings of the first litter (1-2 broods) breed.

In nature, voles live 0.5-1.5 years. The maximum life expectancy is 750 days (the Forest on Vorskla nature reserve) and 1120 days (in the laboratory). They are hunted by weasels, stoats, minks, foxes, and birds of prey.

Nutrition

It feeds on greens, tree seeds, mushrooms, and insect larvae. In winter, it gnaws the bark, sometimes climbing above the surface of the snow. It prefers the bark of aspens, sometimes gnawing off large fallen trees during the winter. In some places it makes reserves of lichens for the winter, crushing them into lumps and storing them behind the loose bark.

Lifestyle

Inhabitant of the forest zone. Penetrates through forest islands into the steppe. Inhabits all types of forests. In winter, it often lives in haystacks and human buildings. It feeds on seeds, bark, tree buds, mushrooms, lichens and herbaceous plants. Active at night. Makes nests in hollows and rotten stumps, less often digs holes with 1-2 chambers.

Number

It is a common and abundant species throughout almost its entire range; in the European part of the range it dominates among forest rodents. The population density during the breeding season reaches 200 individuals/ha. The highest and most constant numbers are typical for populations of European deciduous forests with a predominance of linden and southern taiga spruce-linden forests. Population dynamics are cyclical. Short-term (1-2 years) population peaks repeat after 2-5 years; Fluctuations in numbers are especially noticeable at the boundaries of the range.

Bank vole and man

The bank vole causes damage in tree nurseries, gardens and shelterbelts, and in years of high numbers - in forests, mainly in winter. May damage products in warehouses and residential areas. Carries a number of vector-borne diseases, including hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome and tick-borne encephalitis. Carriage of pathogens of at least 10 other zoonoses has also been established. One of the hosts of ixodid tick nymphs.

Species: Clethrionomys (=Myodes) glareolus = Red (forest) vole, European bank vole

Description. Relatively small species. Body length up to 120 mm, tail - up to 60 mm, foot -15-20 mm, ear - 11-14 mm. Weight up to 35 gr. Eye 3 mm. The fur color of the back (mantle) is rusty-brown in various shades. The belly is grayish-whitish (sometimes the white tone is expressed quite purely. The tail is usually sharply two-colored. The color of the legs is silvery-whitish, sometimes with a faint brownish tint. The winter fur of the back of bank voles is clearly lighter and redder than the summer fur. The color becomes lighter and yellower to the south and redder to the east Sizes increase to the northeast, decreasing with height (in the mountains Western Europe the relationship appears to be the opposite. On the plains of Western Siberia, it is most reliably distinguished from co-living bank voles by the length of its tail (up to 45 mm). The hind limb has 6 foot calluses.

The skull is relatively small, with moderate cheekbones. The condylobasal length of the skull in fully grown and old specimens is 21.7-26 mm; The roots of molars form early, allowing their dimensional growth to be used to determine age. In most cases, M3 has inside 4 protruding corners.

There is no clear sexual dimorphism either in body size or in the structure of the skull. During ethological observations in nature, adult females show greater grace in appearance and movement. Soskov: r. 2-2; i. 2-2 (=8).

Spreading. The bank vole is common in the forest zone of the mountains (up to 1900 m, and in the Alps even up to 2400 m) and plains from Scotland to Turkey in the west and the lower reaches of the river. Yenisei and Sayan in the east. In northern Europe, to the border of forests in the central part of Lapland and the lower reaches of the river. Pechora, in the Trans-Urals up to 65o N. In Siberia, the northern limit of distribution is not clear. In the south of Western Siberia, the distribution coincides with the northern border of the forest-steppe. It penetrates into the tundra and steppe through floodplain forests of rivers.

Biotopes. The bank vole inhabits all types of forests and also penetrates residential buildings located in the middle of the forest. The optimum range is mixed and broad-leaved forests of Europe. During periods of growth and high numbers, this vole is found almost everywhere in a variety of biotopes, populating them more or less evenly. Avoids open stations.

Ecology. It is a common and numerous species throughout almost the entire range. In the European part of its range it dominates among forest rodents. The population density in optimal habitat conditions during the breeding season reaches 200 individuals/ha. To assess the resource and social capacity of habitats, the number of breeding females is most indicative. In Central Europe this value reaches 20-25 females/ha. In the northern and eastern parts of the range, 5-7 females/ha participate in reproduction. Population dynamics are cyclical. The bank vole is characterized by a relatively short duration of peaks (1-2 years), a rapid restoration of numbers after depressions and a gradual reduction after upswings. Characterized by more or less pronounced cyclical fluctuations with a period of 2-5 years.

The bank vole is characterized by a mixed type of diet. The range of feed is wide and varied. It feeds on both ground parts of plants and their root parts. They readily eat the seeds of various grasses and trees (spruce, oak, linden, ash, maple), berries. Even during daily feeding, voles alternate between types of food: if there is a sufficient abundance of it, after 5 minutes of feeding on an acorn, the vole will definitely eat it with some type of green food and vice versa. The vole hides the half-eaten acorn and quite confidently finds it when visiting this place again. When there is a seasonal abundance of a particular type of food, stockpiling is typical. In winter, the daily diet often includes random types of feed (ballast): bark of trees and shrubs, forest litter. I willingly drink dew and rainwater and eat snow.

The bank vole builds a simple burrow structure. Natural voids under the forest floor and elements of other types of burrows are used. Nesting chambers are preferably located under old stumps, in a cluster of stones covered with moss. The variety of nesting sites is determined by the possibility of constructing a chamber with a diameter of 10-15 cm and two or three short approaches to it. The spherical nest is made of dry grass and leaves of the forest litter (litter). The entrance hole with a diameter of 3 cm of the vole is often closed with two or three specially placed dry leaves. An adult female changes 2-3 brood burrows during the breeding season (Mironov, 1979). Before the next birth, the nest lining is renewed. The under-snow tunnel system is much more diverse and complex. The direction of subsnow communications is formed according to the stereotype of movements during the snow-free period, and the tier of location in the snow layer depends on the intensity of the movements of voles during the formation of this layer of snow. Long passages in the snow are not gnawed. In dry snow, voles simply pierce it, making quick movements of their heads from side to side. Voles dig through wet snow with their front paws, making alternating digging movements in front of them. Under the snow, various types of niches under tree branches and along lying tree trunks are readily used. The network of snow passages is formed through the connection of individual communications.

Behavior. The activity of the bank vole is polyphasic (European bank vole, 1981). During the day there are 5-8 periods of activity. The activity phase lasts about 60 minutes, after which the vole goes to rest in the nesting hole and sleeps for 60-90 minutes. In optimal habitats, the daily rhythm of activity is uniform: the vole is equally active in the light and dark. In the taiga forest zone, the rhythm of daily activity shifts towards the dark part of the day. In the budget, the activity phase accounts for up to 80% of activities feeding behavior. The size of the territory used in adult females is 400-1000 m2, in males 1000-8000 m2. The shape of the areas is amoeboid. The size of the plots increases from south to north and east. The main determining factor in their change is the ecological capacity of the habitat (food supply, adult population density). The structure of the habitat is represented by a network of paths connecting the nesting hole with 3-5 feeding areas. When moving, voles run between trees and stumps. During one period of activity, the vole runs 50-370 m. The paths are stereotypical. The areas of adult females are strictly isolated. Females actively drive away any visitor. Bank voles have described a ritual manifestation of feelings (after fights, when someone else's tracks are discovered): the animal spins in one place, throwing away the forest litter from under itself and alternately scratching the sides of the body with its hind legs. The male visits several neighboring females, i.e. areas overlap. Without conflicts, the male is allowed into the female’s territory only during the spring rutting period or prenatal estrus (2-3 days). During the breeding season, bank voles lead a solitary lifestyle. In winter they can form groups. In nature, voles live 1-1.5 years. The maximum life expectancy is 750 days (the Forest on Vorskla reserve) and 1120 days (in the laboratory).

Reproduction. The breeding season begins in March-April and ends in August-September. The beginning of the spring rut is associated with the complete melting of snow. In some years, snow-covered reproduction is noted, which depends on a set of favorable factors that have developed in a particular population. The female brings more than three broods. In a broad-leaved oak grove (“Forest on Vorskla”) in 1974, the female successfully raised 6 broods by mid-July.

Pregnancy lasts 20 days. The female raises the brood alone. The cubs are born blind and naked. The size of the broods increases with the age of the females and the number of births. Usually there are 5-6 cubs in a litter, the maximum known number is 13. They mature at 10-12 days. The cubs independently begin to eat green food while still in the nest - the female brings there withered leaves. On the 14-15th day they begin to emerge from the hole. For most breeding females, the lactation period is combined with the next pregnancy. A few days before giving birth, the female leaves the brood for another pre-prepared burrow (20-50 m from the previous one). After 5 days, the brood divides into two or three groups and moves into neighboring burrows. At the age of a month, the composition of the groups mixes with the cubs of other females or completely disintegrates. Teenagers begin to lead independent lives. Young females mature early - at the age of a month the first pregnancies can occur. Young males mature at the age of 3 months.

The bank vole's fur changes several times during its life. The first juvenile moult begins at 5 weeks of age. Soon after this, a post-juvenile molt occurs, during which the sparse and short grayish-brown fur is replaced by summer fur in those born in spring and early summer, or winter fur in those born in late summer and autumn. Subsequently, regular fur changes occur in spring and autumn. It is closely related to environmental and internal factors: sexual activity, pregnancy, lactation.

A small animal from the genus of forest voles - body length 8–12 cm, tail 4–7 cm, body weight 15–40 g. It can be seen at dusk, and sometimes during the day.

Usually this reddish, not very short-tailed animal lurks under the canopy of forest vegetation in fallen leaves and forest debris. And at the beginning of winter, as soon as the snow falls, numerous trails of bank voles will trace the virgin whiteness of fresh powder.

At the top left - the lower surface of the bank vole's front and hind legs, respectively, at the bottom - the animal's droppings; on the right - traces of a vole moving through the snow by jumping

Bank voles are lighter and more agile compared to slow-moving ones. Perhaps the typical gait for them is light jumps 10–15 cm long.

The prints of all 4 paws are arranged in the form of trapezoids, like in mice and, while a short strip of tail is often imprinted on the snow. Such traces are easily recognized. They differ from tracks by shorter jumps and a short tail imprint, and from tracks of gray voles in that the latter usually do not jump with such jumps.

But it happens that bank voles also move with a quick mincing step, exactly the same as other voles run and in which the prints are located alternately on one or the other side of the trail - like a snake.

The length of the steps is 6–8 cm. Such tracks can be very difficult to identify. We have to search additional signs, which could suggest the correct answer, such as litter. In the bank vole, each grain is strongly pointed on one side; in addition, they are very small - 5x2 mm. The size of the front foot of this animal is 1.1x1, the back one is 1.7x1.5 cm.

In winter, bank voles often fill entire paths from one hole to another, running back and forth many times. They usually run for short distances, and jump when they need to cover a long distance. These mobile animals can move several hundred meters away from the hole.

Voles feed on leaves, buds and tree bark, as well as berries and mushrooms. Berries are used in different ways. Often on stumps and forest logs in the fall you can find a whole bunch of rowan fruits, from which only the seeds were selected, and all the pulp was left as unnecessary.

But they often ate the pulp of rose hips and pulled out and gnawed the seeds. I remember how, after waiting for the mushroom season, I went to a familiar spruce forest, where in previous years I collected young, strong porcini mushrooms. But this time I returned home with an empty basket. All boletus mushrooms that appeared on the surface were ground down to the roots by the sharp teeth of bank voles.

The fact that this was their work was clearly indicated by the droppings left near the white stumps. Apparently, the year was not very successful for the animals if they attacked the mushrooms like that. These voles gnaw on many types of mushrooms, including very bitter gall mushrooms.

In winter, voles pick up fallen or discarded crossbills. fir cones And. Having cut off the scales to about half with sharp teeth, they select tasty seeds.