Water Vole Factsheet

The Distinctive ‘plop’ of a Water Vole diving headlong into an ambling stream is as English as the sound of leather on willow. It conjures up images of lazy days gone by, of Ratty, Mole and Mr Toad just messing about on the river. Unfortunately for most water voles life is somewhat harder, they don’t get much of a chance to mess about on rivers like Ratty and his carefree friends. Voles are struggling against a rapid and dramatic decline in numbers. Not so long ago a vole would have been a common sight on the banks of Sheffield’s rivers, but along with progress and industry came pollution and concrete and now Ratty has no place to go.

A voles habitat varies from the banks of rivers to canals, streams, lakes and ponds. Marshes and ditches are also an important refuge for the vole. Water voles can also be found in less than ideal conditions and have been found in suburban areas where the vegetation is limited and the banks are shallow.

A great way to tell if water voles are about is to look for the tell tale signs they leave, such as footprints, burrows and droppings. They are active during the daytime, particularly in the early evening and so are among the easiest of the small mammal species to watch. If you sit quietly and patiently you may hear the characteristic ‘plop’ of a diving water vole and then be rewarded by by seeing it make its way doggy-paddle across the river as it patrols the banks searching for food.

Work in pairs or groups; stay in sight of each other, tell someone where you are going and when you intend to return, avoid slippery, crumbling or very steep banks, cover cuts and scratches with water proof plasters,wash your hands with soap and tap water before you put them near your mouth,watch out for broken glass or other sharp objects and avoid them, follow the countryside code.

Unlike Ratty whose meals seemed to be supplied by "Fortnum and Mason", water voles are herbivores and so feed on the vegetation found along the riverbank. They can consume up to 80% of their body weight daily, and a nationwide survey has identified 227 species of plant eaten by the water vole in Britain. However their diet changes over the winter months with roots, the bark of trees and shrubs taking preference over reeds, sedges and willowherb as the roots may be tugged down into the tunnel as the vole is tunneling, and the plants eaten without the vole ever having to come to the surface.

If you do find yourself strolling along the banks of a Sheffield river keep your eyes peeled you may catch a glimpse of a small fury creature, a water vole perhaps, or could it be the vole’s distant cousin the brown rat. The distinction is a large one, although people often get confused between the two. The brown rat is an aggresive, fearless scavenger, largely nocturnal and is as big a pest as you will find. It carries disease and dwells in sewers as well as raiding human rubbish food stores. By contrast water voles are almost entirely vegetarian, they always live extremely close to fresh water, and have a far less hostile lifestyle.

The little furry fellas have finally got our support. In 1981 they were added to schedule 5 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act, and in 1996 the UK Biodiversity Action Plan named the vole as one of twelve British mammals in urgent need of help. The result is a special action plan that outlines a government commitment to saving the UK’s most threatened wildlife. water voles can expect to see their numbers finally increase, they will be reintroduced into places they used to live, and when they return their waterways and wetlands will be in a condition worthy of them.