Montana Field Guide

The prairie vole adult measures nearly 6 inches, including its short 1 1/4-inch tail, and weighs about 1 1/2 ounces. Its back is grayish brown, with black or brownish-yellow-tipped hairs. The side fur is lighter gray, and the underside may be yellow ochre, light cinnamon, or whitish gray. It has a relatively large head in proportion to its small bright eyes and ears (Foresman 2001).

Non-migratory.

Dry grassland & sagebrush -- grass semi-desert, where grass is dense enough to provide adeq. cover for runway construction. Will occupy riparian habitat in absence of M. pennsylvanicus.

During spring and summer feeds on green vegetation: grasses, sedges & forbs. From late summer on: roots, tubers, fruits, seeds. May use insects.

Populations fluctuate widely. More fossorial than Microtus pennsylvanicus. Highly social. Tolerant of conspecifics. Many predators, high mortality rate & high reproduction rate.

May form monogamuos pair. Parents coop. in raising young. Bimodal rep. spr/fall in warmer areas. Variable. Possibly unimodal in N ranges. Induced ovulation. 3 wks gestation. Born in globular nest of dried grass, below/above ground.