Bank Vole (Clethrionomys glareolus) lives in temperate forests across Europe and Asia. It feeds on seeds and fruits. Its conservation status is Least Concern.
Fascinating facts about the Bank Vole
- A bank vole's tail stretches only about half its body length, making it look like a mouse with a stubby flag. It measures roughly 100 mm (3.9 in) from nose to tail tip, while the tail itself ranges from 38 to 76 mm (1.5-3 in). Adults weigh between 15.4 g and 36 g (0.54-1.27 oz). In the wild they survive 18 months to two years, yet in captivity they can outlive that by more than three years, reaching over 42 months.
- Bank voles build underground chambers lined with moss, feathers and vegetable fibre, then stash a pantry of food inside. Their nests sit close to the surface or even above ground, and the burrows have multiple exits that branch like a shallow tree. By gathering buds, bark, seeds, nuts and occasional insects, they create dedicated storage chambers that keep supplies safe through winter. This clever hoarding lets them stay active year-round without hibernating, turning them into a constant food source for forest predators.
- A single female can raise up to four litters each summer, each litter averaging four to eight pups, with a maximum of ten. Gestation lasts about 21 days, extending if the mother is still nursing a previous brood. Newborns are hairless, open their eyes at nine days, wean by 20-25 days, and reach sexual maturity at six weeks (females) or eight weeks (males). This rapid turnover fuels population booms in warm months, which in turn supports a wide range of forest predators.
- Bank voles dominate the forest floor at densities of six to one hundred individuals per hectare, making them a staple prey for red foxes, stoats, kestrels and tawny owls. Their abundance also means they act as a natural reservoir for the Puumala hantavirus, which can cause severe kidney disease in humans. While the virus co-evolved with the vole, infected populations show lower overwinter survival, hinting that disease pressure helps keep vole numbers in check.
- On the island of Skomer, a subspecies of bank vole may be roughly 20 000 individuals in late summer, and those island voles are noticeably larger than their mainland cousins.
Sources
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At a glance
RangeEurope and Asia
HabitatTemperate forests
DietSeeds and fruits
About the Bank Vole
In the dappled undergrowth of woodland edges, the bank vole weaves a secret life, its diminutive form darting with quiet purpose through the tangled network of roots and ferns. With each swift, furtive movement, it embodies the unassuming yet resilient spirit of the wild, its large, round eyes drinking in the subtle nuances of its surroundings as it forages for seeds, fruits, and insects to sustain its busy existence. As it scurries up tree trunks and pauses to survey its domain, the bank vole reveals itself to be a small but vital thread in the intricate tapestry of forest life.
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