Once a regular sight in ditches, streams and rivers across the UK, water voles are now absent across much of the country. Earth.com staff writer. 'Latrines' of rounded, cigar-shaped droppings may also be spotted.

The voles that colonised England and Wales following the last ice age were from South East Europe. Endangered water voles are making a comeback in the UK. The European Water Vole (Arvicola amphibius) is a semi-aquatic mammal that resembles a rat. The water vole has been struggling to survive in Great Britain. One of the fastest declining mammal species in the UK is being reintroduced to a stretch of water in which they have been absent for over three decades. The water vole is under serious threat from habitat loss and predation by the non-native American mink. Find out more. They are currently considered one of the UK’s most endangered animals, with 94 percent of the local population disappearing in recent years. “But habitat loss and predation by American mink means that they have suffered a huge decline in the last few decades and are now highly endangered. The European water vole or northern water vole (Arvicola amphibius, included in synonymy: A. terrestris), is a semi-aquatic rodent.It is often informally called the water rat, though it only superficially resembles a true rat. Found along our waterways, it is similar-looking to the brown … “But habitat loss and predation by American mink means that they have suffered a huge decline in the last few decades and are now highly endangered. We have to protect these regionally important ecological networks for water voles to have any future. In fact, the water vole is often informally called the ‘water rat’. Water voles like to sit and eat in the same place, so piles of nibbled grass and stems may be found by the water's edge, showing a distinctive 45 degree, angled-cut at the ends. Water voles have rounder noses than rats, deep brown fur, chubby faces and short fuzzy ears and unlike … Britain’s endangered water voles will reach new heights when they are returned to Yorkshire’s Malham tarn for the first time in 50 years. Protected Species Advice for Developers: Water vole Share.

“Setting up this new population in an ideal site is an important step to give them a better chance of survival in West Wales. National Grid has donated £20,000 to Bristol Avon Rivers Trust (BART) and Somerset Wildlife Trust (SWT) to finance a year-long study into the effects of American Mink on native water vole populations in the county. Water voles are an endangered species in the United Kingdom and have suffered the greatest decline of any British mammal since the latter half of the 20th Century. While water voles are often mistaken for rats, they live in a very different habitat and ecology. Scotland’s water voles are genetically distinct from most of those in England and Wales. According to the National Trust, around 150 European water voles are being released in Somerset, where they were last spotted in the 1980s.

Where necessary employ appropriate mink control as a conservation tool to protect large breeding water vole populations. A haven for endangered water voles Jump to media player The water vole has become Britain's most endangered mammal, but a project in Worcestershire is trying to reverse the decline. The European Water Vole (Arvicola amphibius) is a semi-aquatic mammal that resembles a rat. Updated 2 years ago. In the United Kingdom, they're the most endangered mammal species! Water voles have rounder noses than rats, deep brown fur, chubby faces and short fuzzy ears; unlike rats their tails, paws and ears are covered with hair. Is that a rat or a water vole? Leaping into the river, nibbling on grass and picking blackberries, these water voles may look like they haven’t a care in the world — but they are one of Britain’s most endangered mammals. £20,000 for Bristol Avon Rivers Trust and Somerset Wildlife Trust's Mink Project. If you’re planning any activities that could affect water voles, you must make sure you stay within the law. Recent evidence indicates that water voles have undergone a long term decline in Britain, disappearing from 94% of their former sites. Find out why and how you can help.