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Eastern meadow voles are active year-round [8] [9] and day or night, with no clear 24-hour rhythm in many areas. [10] Most changes in activity are imposed by season, habitat, cover, temperature, and other factors. Eastern meadow voles have to eat frequently, and their active periods (every two to three hours) are associated with food digestion.
Voles are seldom seen outside these runways, which enable a faster and safer locomotion and easier orientation. The climbing ability of the common vole is very poor. Underground nests are dug 30–40 cm (12–16 in) deep into the ground and are used for food storage, offspring raising, and as a place for rest and sleep.
Voles outwardly resemble several other small animals. Moles, gophers, mice, rats and even shrews have similar characteristics and behavioral tendencies. 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 ...
Unlike other voles, prairie voles are generally monogamous. The prairie vole is a notable animal model for studying monogamous behavior and social bonding because male and female partners form lifelong pair bonds , huddle and groom each other, share nesting and pup-raising responsibilities, and generally show a high level of affiliate behavior.
The number of voles expands rapidly with the arrival of spring and the better availability of food supplies. [7] Field voles are an important part of the diet of barn owls and they are also preyed on by kestrels, other owls, weasels, stoats, foxes and snakes. Though very numerous, they have little impact on man except in plague years when they ...
Townsend's vole lives in a burrow system and creates runways among the vegetation in its habitat. The runways are used all year round by successive generations of voles and may be 2.5 to 5 cm (1 to 2 in) deep. [5] In the summer the voles may take advantage of the denser cover available and also move about elsewhere.
It is typically much larger than most other North American voles, especially those from the genus Microtus. [2] An adult taiga vole, excluding tail length, usually ranges from 186–226 mm (7.3–8.9 in) in length and usually weighs 140–170 g (4.9–6.0 oz). This species is found in northern forests near water or bogs. It makes runways ...
Gray-tailed voles are difficult to capture live in the wild, as they are unlikely to enter enclosure type traps. [2] The most effective traps are laid inconspicuously along commonly used runways, so that the voles run directly into them. [2] Much of what is known about the voles has been obtained from observing them in captivity. [2]