The water vole is a small mammal that provides food for many other creatures within the National Park including birds of prey.
It is the largest member of the vole family with a hairy tail and round face, small eyes and ears buried in fur.
It prefers slow rivers, ponds, streams and ditches.
The water vole is a skilled swimmer. It can also have several litters of young a year which increases its survival chances. It has a short, dense undercoat, covered by longer outer fur which keeps the vole warm and dry inside. When it is chased underwater by a predator the water vole has a cunning means of escape… it kicks up clouds of mud to act as a smokescreen, giving the vole a chance for a swift get away!
Herbivore - Feeds on grass and vegetation on the water banks and particularly likes twigs, buds, roots and fallen fruit.
The water vole has suffered possibly the greatest decline of any British mammal and it is now seriously threatened with extinction. The reasons for this are complex but include loss of its wetland habitats, poor river management and predation by the American mink which was introduced into the UK.
The habitat of the water vole is protected by UK law.