Wildlife
Vole heaven
Baby captive-bred water voles are released into the wild.
Baby captive-bred water voles are released into the wild.
Ratty in the city
Trolleys aren't the only thing you find round the back of a supermarket.
Trolleys aren't the only thing you find round the back of a supermarket.
A water vole's history of Britain
How the water vole colonised Britain, and the threat from new immigrants: mink.
How the water vole colonised Britain, and the threat from new immigrants: mink.
Black water voles of Balmoral
Chris Packham uncovers a rabbit/mink link that spells disaster for water voles.
Chris Packham uncovers a rabbit/mink link that spells disaster for water voles.
Digging competition
Unwelcome guests in the newly built system, water voles now find sanctuary in canals.
Unwelcome guests in the newly built system, water voles now find sanctuary in canals.
Vole's best friend
Dog walkers make unexpected allies for the water vole.
Dog walkers make unexpected allies for the water vole.
Guardians of the future
What's being done to help the UK's fastest declining mammal, the water vole?
The water vole is the largest and most famous of the British voles, featuring as Ratty in Kenneth Grahame's story 'Wind in the Willows'. But in the 100 years since the book was written, water vole numbers have dropped to a tiny proportion of what they once were and these characterful creatures are now unknown in some areas of the country. Loss of habitat, predation from the invasive American mink and the indiscriminate spread of rodenticide has all had a big impact on their decline. In the last 60 years, water voles have disappeared from almost 90% of the sites they once occupied in the UK.
Symbol of success
Water voles signify that life is thriving in Rainham Marshes.
Water voles signify that life is thriving in Rainham Marshes.
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