Some people may like to call voles, “vile” or “garden villains” or some other uncomplimentary term because of the destruction they can cause to gardens and landscaping.
So what is a vole? They are actually kind of cute looking. They are a small rodent resembling a fat mouse, about 6-9 inches with a shorter, hairy tail, a slightly rounder head, smaller ears and eyes. They often are called meadow, field or pine mice. Voles actually are classified with lemmings and the muskrats.
Voles are active day and night throughout the year and do not hibernate. Their home ranges usually are less than one-fourth of an acre and vary with season, food supply and population density.
Since voles will commonly use burrows with many exit holes, they can be mistaken for gophers or some kind of ground squirrel.
There are eight species of voles found in Colorado. We might have in Summit County, southern red-backed or pine voles which are found in moist and well-developed coniferous forests, and most abundant in lodgepole pine stands, usually between 8,000 and 11,000 feet or Heather voles found from 7,000 to 12,000 feet in the forested mountains of central Colorado. Montane voles primarily are found in the western half of Colorado in moist meadows and valleys and in grassy areas from 6,000 feet to above timberline. Meadow voles primarily occur along the Front Range and south central Colorado. They tend to live in or near damp marshy areas or wet meadows. Prairie voles are found along streams and irrigated lands in northeastern Colorado.
As with most wild creatures, voles play an important role in the food chain and the natural environment. They forage on native vegetation and provide a valuable food source for predators. Many animals dine on voles including martens, owls, hawks, falcons, coyotes, foxes, snakes, red-tailed hawks and weasels. Vole bones are often found in the pellets of the short-eared owl, the northern spotted owl, the saw-whet owl, the barn owl, the great gray owl and the northern pygmy owl.
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