Red vole: description and description

Red vole is the most common subspecies of forest voles. Animals make up the main branch of the food chain for predators and birds. This cute rodent is recognized as the main pest for forest crops and parks. The vole is dangerous for a person, as it carries an infection that threatens life.

Characteristic

The head of the animal is small, with condensation in the fronto-parietal region. The facial section is lowered down with narrowed nasal bones. The cheek arches are low. The eyes of the animal are black, slightly convex. The roots of teeth in the animal are formed earlier than other representatives of the species, and have a thin enamel. The eardrums are small in size, but this does not affect the sensitive ears of the rodent.

The color of the red voles can vary from light red to rusty. The tail is white in the lower part and dark in the top. The surface of the voles tail appears bald, but in fact it is covered with a thin layer of short hairs, between which are visible skin scales. The size of the animal rarely reaches more than 120 mm, and the tail - no more than 65 mm. In appearance, the mouse resembles a cute and harmless creature, but having met such a beast, it is better to be careful, since the teeth of a red-headed voles are sharp and in case of danger it will be protected.

Lifestyle

Red vole, photo of which can be seen in this article, often lives in broad-leaved forests. He likes to settle on the fringes and woodlands. In the taiga zones he likes to dwell in berry spruce forests. In the south, small animals prefer to inhabit forest islands near fields, where they readily go to feed. In the north, the red-headed voles prefer to live side by side with people, inhabiting houses and sheds.

In the Urals, the animal chooses the most unusual way of life among stones. If a person has seen a voles, he can be completely sure that several animals live around him. A rodent never lives alone, but chooses a couple or a whole family. The vole is the most active mouse, most of the time it spends on the move and only at night can rest a little. These mice are quite lazy in terms of housing arrangement. Contrary to the opinions, this cute animal rarely digs holes for itself, and if it does this, it is very shallow, which makes the voles an easy prey for predators. Usually animals build a dwelling, making a small bedding among the roots of trees, brushwood, under fallen trees. Sometimes the quickest mice climb trees and settle in bird nests.

Reproduction and offspring

A red vole, whose offspring can feel safe in a large family, reproduces only if enough food is provided. If the animal feels safe and comfortable, it is capable of producing offspring at the age of 30 days. It's even before their puberty comes. Most animals begin to multiply 50-60 days after birth.

For one year the female can produce 4 litters of small rodents. On average, their numbers range from 6 to 13 cubs. And if you imagine that there is more than one red-headed vole in the family, the offspring, no matter what, may fill a small area of the forest. The gestation period of the animal lasts a fortnight. Cubs are born naked and blind weight of 10 grams each. Only two weeks after birth, babies can safely leave the shelter and can eat independently. This species of rodents multiplies in spring, summer and winter.

Food

In all seasons the favorite delicacy of the voles are the seeds of branchy plants. Also in the ration of rodents are green parts of plants and insects. In winter, the voles prefer to gnaw the roots of trees and shoots of berry bushes.

Stocks these small animals do not, so if necessary, they can eat whatever they find. Therefore, in winter they often prefer a man's dwelling, in which every day there is something to eat. If the rodent lives in the forest, then the whole winter it is able to feed on the roots of the tree, which leads to the death of the plant. That is why red voles are considered the main pests of forest tracts.

Inhabitation

Red vole, the characteristic of which shows that the animal is unpretentious, lives practically in every corner of the planet. The area stretches from Scotland and Scandinavia to southern Italy, Turkey and Yugoslavia.

Also a small animal can be found in all regions of Russia. Unfortunately, not all voles are able to survive in cold climatic conditions, but this does not reduce their total number. Voles also make up the basic diet for predatory animals, what their populations support.

The main enemies of the animal

• Bearded Owl. It is a large bird with strong wings and powerful hearing. It is able to catch the movement of the voles even under a large layer of snow. Thanks to tenacious paws, the owl dives into the snow and takes out the prey. Thanks to the red-breasted voles, this predator lives the winter without knowing the hunger.
• Weasel. This flexible predator is able to pursue voles due to its small size and brightness. Rodent for affection is the main diet in the winter.
• Kestrel. The red falcon mainly hunts the gray voles, but also does not abandon the red representatives of the species.
• Marten. In summer, this animal can eat berries and insects, but in winter, the main diet for marten is the vole mouse. On average, adult marten can attack even a squirrel, but this is much more difficult than finding a small rodent under the snow floor.

Harmfulness

Red vole (systematics refers it to the detachment of rodents) is the main pest of forest massifs. During the increase in the number of rodents, they actually destroy the gardens and young trees of the reserves. Animals that live near fields inflict enormous damage on the crop, contaminating and often infecting it with various viral infections, which requires monitoring of the animal population by humans. If voles begin to live next door to a person, they often contaminate food and feed for livestock. Also, the rodent delivers a lot of trouble, spoiling things and gnawing loopholes. In Europe, frequent cases include infection with hemorrhagic fever and an outbreak of kidney syndrome. хантавируса , которые вызывает заболевания, такие как сальмонеллез, туляремия, псевдотуберкулез. It is this subspecies of the voles that carries the dangerous hantavirus that causes diseases such as salmonella, tularemia, pseudotuberculosis. Therefore, people in agricultural areas try to get rid of mice as much as possible by introducing specialized poison and pesticides into burrows.

то что рыжая полевка является грызуном-вредителем, который уничтожает посевы и наносит вред лесным массивам, зверек становится неотъемлемой частью выживания лесных хищников. Despite the fact that the red vole is a rodent-pest that destroys crops and harms forest areas, the animal becomes an integral part of the survival of forest predators. Red voles never hibernate. Their activity in winter time never decreases, they are able to exist for a long time under the cover of snow. This gives preference to predators in search of food in the cold winter.