Northern Red-Backed Vole Clethrionomys rutilis
Animal Planet :: Mammal Guide -- Northern Coniferous
The northern red-backed vole does not hibernate, but remains active all winter, feeding on the seeds, nuts, and roots that it gathered during warmer weather.
In the tundra, where it is also found, it tends to be larger, with a redder pelage than here in the boreal forest.
Once the snow has melted, the population of Clethrionomys rutilis is made up entirely of those born the year before, but within about eight weeks, the first of the young are starting to breed.
By the end of summer, all those born the year before have died.
Its abundance makes the northern red-backed vole popular prey for weasels and other small carnivores, as well as predatory birds.
Another name for it is the polar red-backed vole, and Laplanders call it the squirrel mouse. |
