This selection of Irish animals, native or introduced, is taken from the Appletree Press title Animals of Ireland. There will be a number of extracts from the book in coming months. The book contains highly detailed full colour illustrations to complement the detailed explanatory text.

Bank Vole
Clethrionomys glareolus
Vól bruaigh

This little rodent is a newcomer to the Irish scene, though how it arrived in Ireland is still a mystery. It was first noticed in 1964 in County Kerry and was subsequently found to be quite widespread in the south-west (counties Limerick, Kerry, Cork and Clare). It has been suggested that it arrived around 1950, probably as an unsuspected stowaway on shipping docked in Limerick port.

Part of the reason for the successful spread of this animal is that it favours scrubby habitat of which there is an abundance in Ireland. It also inhabits verdant ground cover amongst bramble patches and hedgerows. It forages for soft vegetable matter like the fruits and leaves of a variety of plants and its largely vegetarian diet is supplemented by invertebrates.

More like a miniature rat than a mouse, the Bank vole has an even blunter-looking face than its larger relative. The ears and tail (which is only half the length of the body) are entirely fur covered. The fur is reddish brown in general but is more greyish on the flanks and shades to pale greyish on the underparts. Despite its superficial resemblance to a rat, the Bank vole is easily handled and quite harmless.

Several litters comprising up to half a dozen young are born to a pair of voles in an average year over the spring and summer. Within a month or so the young can reproduce themselves. It is easy to see how they can have 'population explosions' in countries where they are common.

Bank voles are both nocturnal and diurnal. They can be seen scurrying about in the undergrowth in broad daylight. They are good climbers and will run over fallen trees or other obstructions with ease. Their average size is 15 cm (6 inches), including the tail.

In Britain, Bank voles are prey to a number of large birds of prey, most of which are not found in Ireland. It seems likely, therefore, in the absence of these links in the food chain, that the Bank vole will become a widespread and common rodent throughout Ireland in time.

Other Small Mammals from Animals of Ireland include:
Brown Rat |
Grey Squirrel |
Hedgehog |
House Mouse |
Pigmy Shrew |
Red Squirrel |
Wood Mouse |