Southern Red-backed Vole (Clethrionomys gapperi) lives in boreal forests across North America. It feeds on seeds and fruits. Its conservation status is Least Concern.
Fascinating facts about the Southern Red-backed Vole
- Measuring 12-16.5 cm in total length with a 4 cm tail, this vole weighs between 6 g and 42 g, averaging about 20.6 g. Its body is short and slender, marked by a distinctive reddish band along the back while the sides and head are grey and the belly is paler. This colour pattern and modest size give it the classic appearance of a small, agile forest rodent.
- Throughout the year the vole keeps a personal network of runways across surface vegetation in warm months and digs snow tunnels in winter. It follows the paths it has established, moving mainly at night while remaining active day-to-day. Its diet is varied, taking green plants, underground fungi, seeds, nuts, roots, insects, snails and berries.
- Southern red-backed voles often occupy burrows left by other small mammals such as squirrels and groundhogs. Their own nests measure 7-10 cm and may be situated underground or suspended in trees, constructed from scavenged plant material collected on the forest floor. These hidden retreats provide shelter and a place to rear young in the dense forest understory.
- Mating begins just before the first signs of spring, after which females become pregnant and give birth after a brief gestation of 17 to 19 days. Each litter contains between two and eight pups, providing a rapid boost to the population when conditions are favourable. The young grow quickly and are capable of reproducing by the time they reach three months of age, ensuring the species can maintain its numbers throughout the year.
- Southern red-backed voles defend territories against both conspecifics and competing species, giving them an edge when they first colonise an area. In such established populations they can outcompete North American deer mice for food and space, but large disturbances like forest fires can dramatically cut their numbers. After fire, their recovery is slow, leaving them vulnerable to being displaced by species better suited to the altered environment.
Sources
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At a glance
RangeNorth America
HabitatBoreal forests
DietSeeds and fruits
About the Southern Red-backed Vole
In the dense understory of North America's eastern forests, the Southern Red-backed Vole weaves a secret life, its tiny, rust-hued form darting with furtive purpose through the tangled web of ferns and leaf litter. With each step, its delicate paws barely disturb the forest floor, as if the very earth itself were a whispering confidant, sharing ancient secrets with this diminutive, yet resilient, creature. As it navigates this hidden realm, the Southern Red-backed Vole embodies the unassuming yet unyielding spirit of the wild, a testament to the enduring power of life in even the most obscure and overlooked corners of our natural world.
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