Singing vole facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Singing vole |
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Microtus
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miurus
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The singing vole (Microtus miurus) is a small rodent. It lives in northwestern North America. This includes Alaska and parts of northwestern Canada. These voles are known for their unique, high-pitched warning call.
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Physical Characteristics
Singing voles have small ears. These ears are often hidden by their long fur. They also have a short tail. Their fur is very soft and thick. It gets even denser in the winter.
The color of their fur can be light brown or pale grey. They have lighter, buff-colored patches. These patches run from their ears down their sides to their rump. Their bellies are also buff or ochre colored. Tiny black hairs are mixed into their fur. However, these hairs are so few that they do not change the main color much. In winter, their fur turns a bit greyer. Their paws have sharp, narrow claws. These claws are mostly hidden by their fur.
Adult singing voles are about 9 to 16 centimeters (3.5 to 6.3 inches) long. This measurement does not include their short tail. Their tail is usually 1.5 to 4 centimeters (0.6 to 1.6 inches) long. They can weigh from 11 to 60 grams (0.4 to 2.1 ounces). Their weight depends on their age and what they have eaten. Male and female singing voles look very similar in size and color. Male voles have special glands on their sides. They use these glands to mark their territory with scent. Some female voles also have these glands.
You can tell singing voles apart from other voles nearby. They have shorter tails. Also, their underparts are buff-colored, while other local voles have grey underparts.
Where Singing Voles Live and Their Homes
Singing voles are found in Alaska and northwestern Canada. They live along the western coasts. They are also found across southern and northern Alaska. However, they do not live in the Alaska Peninsula or central and northern coastal areas. To the east, they reach the Mackenzie Mountains. They are found throughout the Yukon, except for the northern coasts. They also live in border regions of nearby provinces.
Scientists recognize four types of singing voles:
- Microtus miurus miurus - found in the Kenai Peninsula
- Microtus miurus cantator - found in southeastern Alaska and southern Yukon
- Microtus miurus miuriei - found in southwestern Alaska
- Microtus miurus oreas - found in northern Alaska and Yukon
Singing voles live in tundra areas. These are cold, treeless regions above the tree line. They avoid the harshest parts of these areas. They prefer open, well-drained slopes and rocky flats. These places have many shrubs and sedges.
They eat arctic plants. Their diet includes lupines, knotweed, sedges, horsetails, and willows. Many animals hunt singing voles. Their main predators are wolverines, Arctic foxes, stoats, skuas, hawks, and owls.
Behavior
Singing voles often live in groups. They are semi-colonial animals. This means family groups may share burrows. They are active throughout the day. They do not seem to prefer daylight or nighttime. They create paths through the plants on the surface. These paths connect their feeding areas to their burrow entrances. However, these paths are not as clear as those made by some other vole species. They also sometimes look for food in low bushes.
Their burrows have several rooms. Many of these rooms are used to store food for winter. Very narrow passages connect these rooms. These passages are usually about 2.5 centimeters (1 inch) wide. This makes it hard for animals larger than a vole to get through. This helps protect them from predators like weasels. The burrows are horizontal. They are no more than 20 centimeters (8 inches) below the ground. They can extend up to 1 meter (3.3 feet) from the tunnel entrance.
Singing voles do something unusual for voles. Besides storing food like roots underground, they also dry grasses on rocks. Often, they build these stacks on low branches or exposed tree roots. This helps keep the grasses dry. The stacks of grasses slowly dry out, turning into hay. They might also include other foods, like horsetails or lupines. The voles start building these stacks around August. By winter, the piles can be quite large. Some piles have been reported to be up to 50 centimeters (20 inches) high. These piles provide nutritious food during the winter. However, other animals might try to steal from them.
This species gets its name from its warning call. It is a high-pitched trill. They usually make this sound from the entrance of their burrow.
Reproduction and Life Cycle
Singing voles breed from May to September. Each female can have up to three litters of babies in one breeding season. Pregnancy lasts for 21 days. A female usually gives birth to eight young. However, litters with 6 to 14 young have been seen. A female vole only has eight teats. So, litters with more than eight babies might not all survive.
The young voles weigh about 2 to 2.8 grams (0.07 to 0.1 ounces) when they are born. They grow very quickly during their first three weeks. They stop drinking milk from their mother at about four weeks old. By this time, the mother is often ready to have a new litter. Female voles usually do not have babies until their second year. But male voles can become ready to breed in as little as one month after birth.
In the wild, many singing voles do not live past their first winter. In zoos or labs, they have been known to live for up to 112 weeks. However, most only live for about 43 weeks.
Evolution
The oldest known singing vole fossils are about 300,000 years old. They were found near Fairbanks. This was during a time called the Ionian Age. During the Ice Ages of the late Pleistocene, singing voles might have lived in many more places than they do today. Fossils have been found as far south as Iowa. At that time, Iowa probably had a climate similar to Alaska today. The closest living relative to the singing vole is the insular vole. This vole lives only on two small islands off the west coast of Alaska. It likely became a separate species when those islands were cut off from the Beringia land bridge by rising sea levels.
See also
In Spanish: Microtus miurus para niños
