The northern red-backed vole can be found in Alaska, Canada, Europe, and Russia. These slender voles are known to cause damage to fruit trees and grains. They face the threat of habitat loss and destruction at the hands of habitat clearing and certain modern forestry practices which reduce essential ground cover and foraging areas. This also creates “edge” environments that allow other vole species to move in and outcompete them for food and shelter. Summer wildfires also cause immediate, localized mortality and destroy crucial protective cover, leaving these voles highly exposed to predation. However, these critters are abundant enough to be listed as Least Concern by the IUCN. Their population trend is unknown at this time.
First the Stats…
Scientific name: Clethrionomys rutilus
Weight: Up to 1.76 ounces
Length: Up to 5.2 inches, plus up to a 2 inch tail
Lifespan: Up to 3 years
Now on to the Facts!
1.) They dwell in a variety of northern forests and shrubland habitats.
2.) These voles are both nocturnal (active at night) and crepuscular (active at dawn and dusk).
3.) Seeing as these critters don’t hibernate, moss matts and leaf litter is used to stay warm during the colder winter months.
4.) Buds, leaves, twigs, berries of a variety of shrubs, forbs, fungi, mosses, lichens, and sometimes insects are all feasted upon.
5.) American martens, Arctic foxes, coyotes, raccoons, red foxes, stoats, and snowy owls all prey on these diminutive critters.
But wait, there’s more on the northern red-backed vole!
6.) Tunnels are constructed under the snow. But their tunnels are not as long as other vole species.
7.) Females undergo up to a 19 day gestation (pregnancy) that yields up to 9 pups.
Did you know…?
Seeing as they are rodents, their teeth continually grow their whole life and must be worn down.
8.) Pups are weaned at up to 18 days. At this time they leave the nest and start life on their own.
9.) They have very short ears but they are visible through their fur.
10.) Like many northern rodents, their populations are highly cyclical, experiencing dramatic peaks and crashes roughly every 3 – 5 years.
Now a Short Northern Red-Backed Vole Video!
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Some source material acquired from: Wikipedia & IUCN
