Factbites
 Where results make sense
About us   |   Why use us?   |   Reviews   |   PR   |   Contact us  

Topic: Water Vole


Related Topics

In the News (Mon 20 May 13)

  
  Vanishing water voles
The water vole could be on the brink of extinction in Cornwall now and, if current trends continue, it is predicted that the water vole could become extinct in the UK by 2003.
The water vole is known and loved predominantly as "Ratty" from The Wind in the Willows.
Water vole work in Cornwall is being sponsored by Pennon (South West Water) and The Wildlife Trusts and is supported by the Environment Agency and English Nature.
www.cornwallwildlifetrust.org.uk /nature/mammals/watervole.htm   (893 words)

  
 Water Vole
Although it is the same size as a brown rat, the harmless water vole differs in having a chubby face with a blunt nose and short furry ears almost hidden by long fur.
Water voles prefer clean water in less disturbed areas by lowland river banks or the edges of ponds and lakes.
In USSR the water vole is hunted for its fur.
www.yptenc.org.uk /docs/factsheets/animal_facts/water_vole.html   (969 words)

  
 Water vole statement in response to negative press coverage
As stated in a correction published by The Independent on 24th March, the decline of water voles in the UK has resulted from habitat loss and predation by American mink, and not from the actions of conservation biologists monitoring wild populations.
The report suggests that radio-collaring of water voles may have resulted in the skewed sex ratios observed, but emphasises that it cannot prove a causal effect and that more work would be required to establish or refute such a link.
It is currently unknown whether radio-collaring of populations of water voles results in a skew in sex ratios.
www.wildcru.org /aboutus/news/watervolestatement.htm   (553 words)

  
 Bexley Council - Parks and Open Spaces - Bexley's Biodiversity Action Plan - Water Vole Action Plan
Water voles are found in all kinds of wetland habitats such as ditches, rivers, canals, streams and ponds, preferring steep natural banks in which they create burrow systems.
Water vole distribution in Bexley is associated mainly with the grazing marshes in the north of the borough.
Water voles appear to be fairly tolerant of low water quality although the effects of localised pollution such as industrial effluent are unknown.
www.bexley.gov.uk /service/parks/biodiv-actplan-watervole.html   (1697 words)

  
 An analysis of water vole distribution & habitat in the Cotswold Water Park   (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-28)
The water vole, Arvicola terrestris, has recently undergone a dramatic nationwide decline as a consequence of habitat destruction and predation by American Mink (Strachan, Strachan and Jefferies 1993) and thus is included in the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and the UK Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP).
Water voles were seen to be widely distributed throughout the study area, found in 58.8% of surveyed sections.
A reduction in mink numbers may increase the availability of habitat for water voles but this study’s findings suggest that more may be achieved through habitat restoration and creation schemes, increasing the quantity and quality of habitat for water voles and providing “refuge” areas where the effects of mink predation may be lessened.
www.silsoe.cranfield.ac.uk /iwe/courses/water_voles.htm   (557 words)

  
 Conserving Scotland's Water Voles
Water voles are preyed upon by a range of native predators including stoats, weasels, otters, foxes, rats, various birds of prey and herons.
The threat posed by mink applies over most of the water vole’s range, although perhaps fortunately for upland-dwelling voles, mink tend to be scarce in open moorland and mountainous terrain, seeming to prefer the greater cover and abundance of prey that is to be found in the lower-lying parts of many rivers.
Some water gardens and nurseries, fish farms and game fisheries have shot or poisoned water voles to prevent or reduce the damage that the voles can do to the banks of their watercourses and holding ponds.
www.snh.org.uk /publications/on-line/wildlife/voles/decline.asp   (748 words)

  
 BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Water vole slide 'can be halted'
Once strong water vole populations were pushed back by land drainage and by the canalisation of rivers with iron and concrete banks.
Mink are better swimmers than voles, and a female mink with young to feed can kill all the voles in her territory in less than a year.
As well as highlighting the water vole, this year's report looks in some detail at the pine marten, Britain's second rarest carnivore (the wildcat is the rarest).
news.bbc.co.uk /1/hi/sci/tech/4555779.stm   (783 words)

  
 Water Vole - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Water voles have rounder noses than rats, deep brown fur, chubby faces and short fuzzy ears; unlike the rat their tails, paws and ears are covered with hair.
The water vole population in the UK has fallen from its estimated pre-1960 level of around 8 million to 2.3 million in 1990 and to 354,000 (other source: 750,000) in 1998.
Though much of the official focus on water vole conservation in the UK is on large areas of reed bed which support dense but localised and isolated populations, the largest areas supporting healthy populations of water voles are large conurbations such as Birmingham and London and some upland areas where American Mink are scarce.
en.wikipedia.org /wiki/Water_Vole   (923 words)

  
 Water vole: Waterscape.com
Water voles spend most of their time within two metres of their burrows and tend to occur in rural areas rich in dense vegetation.
Water vole spotters should look out for closely grazed 'lawn' areas, often covered with neat piles of chopped grass, which are often seen around burrow entrances.
Water voles are able to escape from their natural predators (otters, heron, weasels etc) by returning to their small burrows.
www.waterscape.com /features/wildlife/water_vole.html   (458 words)

  
 BBC - Science & Nature - Wildfacts - Water vole, water rat
Water voles are the largest British vole and are often mistaken for a rat.
Water voles inhabit the banks of ditches, dykes, slow-moving rivers and streams, and grassland.
Water voles are expert swimmers, but are not particularly specialised for a life in the water, unlike beavers and otters.
www.bbc.co.uk /nature/wildfacts/factfiles/268.shtml   (250 words)

  
 Watervole
Water voles are herbivorous, feeding largely on the stems and leaves of waterside plants.
The water vole is a Priority Species in the UK BAP because of its declining population.
Water voles are found in all the counties of North West England.
www.lbap.org.uk /bap/species/watervole.htm   (1683 words)

  
 King Water Vole   (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-28)
Therefore Water Vole was born in the space between galaxies.
Water Vole tended therefore to avoid battles instead opting to use mind control scope powers and other psychic scope powers to defeat single or grouped opponents from a distance.
Water Vole was also able to influence the outcomes of battles by channeling his scope powers over the battlefield and through the troops below.
www.fortunecity.com /bennyhills/gum/353/wvole.htm   (628 words)

  
 Water Vole   (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-28)
Water voles feed primarily on lush waterside vegetation, especially grasses, sedges, rushes and reeds, and habitats containing vegetation of this type (particularly those with over 60% herbaceous ground cover) are favoured.
Water voles need to eat up to 80% of their body weight daily, thus a secure food source is extremely important.
Water voles are unable to burrow into rocky or gravely substrates or where banks are reinforced or are flooded for protracted periods.
www.biodiversitysussex.org /watervole.htm   (4690 words)

  
 Water Vole
The vole is a close relative of the rat and mouse, the vole can be distinguished from either of them by its blunt snout, tiny ears and short tail.
Another sign of the water vole is a area near the burrow which has been very close cropped (You could practice your putting) on top of a bank.
Legal protection is given to water vole habitat because the loss of suitable habitat is the main reason for the dramatic reduction in their numbers.
www.the-piedpiper.co.uk /th1m.htm   (680 words)

  
 Water Vole Factsheet.   (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-28)
Water voles tend to eat on the side of the river bank, in an area with plenty of vegetation surrounding it, and which will often have signs of half nibbled food.
Water voles are declining so much that their is a view that these animals will soon become extinct in the wild.
Today water voles are considered to be endangered, therefore they are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, where it is an offence to destroy the habitat of the water vole, or to intentionally kill a water vole.
www.btinternet.com /~treerats/Infopages/watervoles.htm   (690 words)

  
 Water Vole   (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-28)
The water vole was once common and widespread in lowland Britain but has suffered a significant decline in numbers and distribution in recent years.
Water voles are protected by law and were included on Schedule 5, Section 9 (4) a and b of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (as amended) in 1998.
A water vole survey in 1998 of the Sankey Brook and Whittle Brook in Warrington identified the present of strong populations.
www.cheshire-biodiversity.org.uk /mammal-wvole.htm   (761 words)

  
 Water Vole
Water voles are also known as water rats, as they resemble brown rats, but have a rounder face, not the long snout typical of rats.
In addition to the United Kingdom, water voles are found in various parts of Europe such as Holland and Germany, where they are exposed to the same threats.
Water voles are rarely seen by people, and will dive into the water when they hear anyone approaching.
www.wildinfo.com /facts/Vole.asp?page=/facts/Vole.asp   (490 words)

  
 Conservation of Water Voles - how to spot 'Ratty'
As you might guess, this is hardly usual – water voles are normally vegetarian (herbivorous) – choosing juicy grasses and sedges as their main food and very occasionally snacking on snails.
Burrows are sometimes used by water voles to hide from danger, but often they choose to use the water instead – they are excellent swimmers.
The 'plop' of a water vole entering the water used to be a common sound along watery edges – let's hope that it will be a sound we can all look forward to hearing more of in the future.
www.lincstrust.org.uk /conservation/wvole/ratty.php   (672 words)

  
 Romney Marsh Countryside Project - Water Vole (Arvicola terrestris)
A decline in water vole numbers from 2000 to 2001 is probably a result of extensive flooding in the autumn of 2000.
Water voles would have been driven from flooded burrows and exposed to an increased risk of chilling, hunger and predation.
Climate has a great impact on water vole populations and it is suspected that harsh winters combined with dry summers could have caused a population decline in the mid 1990's with a more recent recovery in the population due to subsequent more favourable climatic conditions.
www.rmcp.co.uk /WaterVole.html   (1353 words)

  
 Water Vole -SW
Proposals for inclusion of the water vole in schedule 5 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 are currently under view (to be amended 1997).
Water Voles are the largest of the British Voles, adults attaining a body weight of weight between 200 and 350g.
Water voles favour a slow-flowing water course, less than 3m wide, around 1m in depth and not showing extreme fluctuations in water level.
www.swbiodiversity.org.uk /Species/W_Vole/W_VoleSW.htm   (1641 words)

  
 Get involved with PTES: Water Vole 2005
Water voles may be the UK's most rapidly declining mammal according to David Macdonald and Sandra Baker of WildCRU, authors of our recently published report The State of Britain's Mammals 2005.
The fate of all the water voles that are released is being carefully followed to see how quickly they manage to expand to areas further afield.
The problems facing water voles in Scotland are very similar to those facing voles elsewhere in the UK but there haven't yet been many initiatives to halt the decline there.
www.ptes.org /action/appeals/WaterVoleAppeal2005.html   (1235 words)

  
 The Dorset Water Vole Project | Naturesave Policies Ltd.
The water vole is highly dependent on bankside vegetation for cover and food, so that in areas where the bankside vegetation has been cut or otherwise removed the water vole becomes easy prey for a whole host of predators, including the notorious mink.
The seriousness of the plight of the water vole is now highlighted by the fact that the species is one of only nine mammals listed on the UK's Biodiversity Action Plan and by the fact that the water vole has recently received legal protection under Schedule 5 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act.
The objectives of the survey are to provide the first accurate county distribution of water voles, to assess the quality of the habitat available and to determine the principal threats to the remaining populations.
www.naturesave.co.uk /water_vole_survey.html   (601 words)

  
 The Upper Thames Water Vole Restoration Project
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.
Water voles have been lost from the majority of the British countryside due to the combined pressures of habitat loss and predation by invasive American mink.
The work comprises both practical restoration of water voles to the countryside, and an experiment designed to test our understanding of background ecological theory and from which we aim to derive nationally applicable guidelines for the re-introduction and translocation of water voles.
www.wildcru.org /research/es/watervoles.htm   (605 words)

  
 Ladywildlife's Water Vole Page
The water vole’s gestation is 20 to 22 days, and up to eight young may be born.
Water voles gnaw the roots of young trees.
Naturewatch: it is easy to confuse a water vole with a water rat, but in fact its muzzle is blunter, its tail is shorter, and its back is not quite as arched.
ladywildlife.com /animal/watervole.html   (846 words)

  
 Water vole - Arvicola terrestris - English Nature
The attractive water vole has a rounded body and a rich brown coat which may be paler and greyer underneath.
The water vole may be heard as it plops back into the water when you walk along the bank of a stream, although these days such encounters are all too rare.
Water voles were once common enough in small streams and canals all over Britain.
www.plantpress.com /wildlife/o94-watervole.php   (512 words)

  
 Brook Meadow Water Voles
Water Voles are found in saline habitats, but they need to return to fresh water at least once a day to clean off their fur.
In Water Voles, between spring and autumn, droppings are left in piles of 5-100 near the water's edge.
Although water voles can still be found on all of the main river catchments in the county, the distribution of water voles on the smaller rivers and tributaries in Hampshire is largely unrecorded, and this led to last autumn's survey involving the community, along the River Ems.
www.hants.gov.uk /brook-meadow/bm-water-voles.html   (4837 words)

  
 Hertfordshire Biological Records Centre - Species - Water vole   (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-28)
Hertfordshire: In 1998 the water vole was added to Schedule 5 of the Wildlife & Countryside Act (1981), to ensure consideration of the species before their habitat is destroyed.
Water voles are territorial and mark their territories with droppings at latrine sites along the water’s edge.
These include destruction/ re-profiling of the river bank, removal of vegetation making water voles more vulnerable to predation, a decline in water quality (particularly due to run-off from fields where arable crops are grown close to the river), loss of water from the rivers and predation notably by the introduced American Mink.
enquire.hertscc.gov.uk /hbrc/species/watervole.html   (190 words)

Try your search on: Qwika (all wikis)

Factbites
  About us   |   Why use us?   |   Reviews   |   Press   |   Contact us  
Copyright © 2005-2007 www.factbites.com Usage implies agreement with terms.