Meadow Vole - Microtus pennsylvanicus
General Description
The meadow vole, under 6 inches in length from tip of nose to end of tail and a little over an ounce in weight, has the rotund body, blunt nose, and bright black eyes of all voles. On top it can be yellowish or reddish brown to dark brown, with black-tipped hairs. Below it is buffy to lead gray, with silver-tipped hairs. In Montana, meadow voles and montane voles look much alike; however, the meadow voles tend to be darker brown and have plantar tubercles (foot pads) (Foresman 2001).
Distribution
Montana Range
Observations in Montana: 985
Montana CountiesBeaverhead, Big Horn, Blaine, Broadwater, Carbon, Carter, Cascade, Chouteau, Custer, Daniels, Dawson, Deer Lodge, Fallon, Fergus, Flathead, Gallatin, Glacier, Granite, Hill, Jefferson, Judith Basin, Lake, Lewis and Clark, Lincoln, Madison, McCone, Meagher, Mineral, Missoula, Musselshell, Park, Petroleum, Phillips, Pondera, Powder River, Powell, Prairie, Ravalli, Richland, Roosevelt, Rosebud, Sanders, Sheridan, Silver Bow, Stillwater, Sweet Grass, Teton, Toole, Treasure, Valley, Wheatland, Wibaux, Yellowstone
Migration
Non-migratory.
Habitat
Wet grassland habitat but not above timberline in grassy alpine tundra. Where M. MONTANUS not present, M. PENNSYLVANICUS may inhabit drier grasslands (Hoffmann 1968).
Food Habits
Grasses, sedges & herbaceous plants. May use fungi, particularly endogone. Will use insects. Occasionally will use carrion (Reich 1981).
Ecology
Makes extensive runways. In E MT mean home range was 0.13 ac. for females, 0.14 ac. for lactating females, 0.23 ac. for males (McCann 1976). Low longevity, high juvenile mortality. (Jones 1983).
Reproductive Characteristics
Productivity varies with climate & population trends. Promiscuous. Probably 5-6 young/litter. Young disperse from natal nest when 3-4 weeks old (Jones 1983).
Citations & Sources
- Burt, W. H. and R. P. Grossenheider. 1964. A field guide to the mammals. 2nd edition. The Peterson Field Guide Series. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, MA.
- Foresman, K.R. 2001. The wild mammals of Montana. Special Publication No. 12. American Society of Mammalogists
- Kritzman, Ellen B. 1977. Little mammals of the Pacific Northwest. Pacific Search Press, Seattle, WA.
- Zeveloff, S. I. 1988. Mammals of the Intermountain West. Univ. of Utah Press, Salt Lake City, Utah.