### animal | vertebrate | mammal | rodent:

Vole
* Most voles are eaten by predators
  - killed by predators
  - less than three inches, and have a short, fur-covered tail
  - promiscuous, some are monogamous
  - avoid areas
* Most voles become invasive pests
  - consume roots
  - dig shallow burrows
* Most voles eat green vegetation
  - insects
  - matter
* Most voles feed on fresh grass
  - form large colonies
  - have short ears
* Most voles live in grassland
  - meadows
  - occupy areas
* Most voles reach maturity
  - reproductive maturity
  - sexual maturity
* Most voles use burrows
  - mole tunnels
  - underground tunnels
* Some voles are classified as omnivores.
* Some voles attain body size
  - carry pathogen
* Some voles consume deserts
  - defend territory
  - destroy weeds
  - disperse from density
* Some voles eat bark
  - seedlings
  - escape predators
* Some voles have ancestry
  - distribution
  - high reproductive potential
  - mouths
  - senses
  - short tails
  - wounds
  - inhabit orchards
* Some voles live for few months
* Some voles live in colonies
  - distinct colonies
  - families
  - nuclear families
  - lose weight
  - occupy grass
* Some voles prefer clean water
  - habitats
* also can ruin lawns, golf courses, and ground covers
  - girdle the roots of trees and shrubs
* are a protected species in some areas
  - active both day and night
* are active day and night, year-round, with peak activity occurring at dawn and dusk
  - also slightly larger, usually between four to seven inches
  - an important part of the ecosystem
  - another one of the pests which usually cause nuisance damage during the winter
  - bigger than common mice
* are classified as nongame mammals and are protected
  - can be controlled when causing damage
  - common in North America, but are found in other parts of the world also
* are compact animals with stocky bodies, short legs and short tails
  - rodents with stocky bodies, short legs, and short tails
  - important food for raptors and carnivorous mammals such as weasels and skunks
  - less obvious pests than are moles
  - like candy to virtually every predator, including great horned owls, coyotes and foxes
  - located in fields
  - mammals that most likely resemble rats and mice
  - mostly vegetarian, feeding on a variety of grasses, herbaceous plants, bulbs, and tubers
  - mouse-like rodents known mostly for damaging grass, bulbs, trees and plant roots
* are primarily forage and root feeders, preferring succulent grasses and legumes
  - vegetarian, which means they eat plants, flowers and other greenery
  - vegetarians, living on seeds, bark and the occasional insect
* are prolific breeders and can produce four to six litters a year
  - reproducers that can quickly colonize an area
* are rodents and belong to the same family as rats and mice
  - of the Northern Hemisphere, inhabiting North America, Europe and Asia
  - that feed on the roots and bark of plants
  - semi-fossorial with elaborate burrow systems
* are small mammals, commonly called mice, that live in field and shrub habitats
  - mouse-like mammals
  - rodents related to muskrats that look like stocky mice
* are small rodents that feed on plants
  - resemble mice
  - rodents, more similar to lemmings than to mice
  - small, chunky, ground-dwelling rodents
  - vegetarians, thriving primarily on plants, roots, grasses, tree bark, fruits and nuts
  - wood rats
* bare very few positive attributes to humans.
* belong to the animalia kingdom and are classed as mammalia
  - rodent category of mammals and have a striking resemblance to mice
* breed quickly.
* can cause extensive damage by girdling trees and damaging roots
  - problems by damaging lawns, gardens, tree plantings and other plants
  - create as much damage as a gopher
  - damage lawns by constructing runways and clipping grass very close to the roots
  - increase in numbers rapidly due to the quickness of their sexual maturity
  - multiply fast because of which they are often termed as baby makers
* cause considerable damage
  - extensive damages to crops or plantings due to their feeding habits
  - severe damage
  - trees to die and fall, which is expensive and dangerous, by eating all the roots
* chew plants and bulbs, grasses and roots.
* come in various species, including prairie and montane voles.
* construct an extensive system of underground tunnels with numerous burrow entrances
  - many surface runways and underground tunnels with numerous burrow entrances
* continue to thrive during the cold of winter using the snow for cover.
* dig burrows
  - many short, shallow burrows and make underground nests of grass, stems, and leaves
* eat a variety of grasses, forbs and agricultural Crops
  - and agricultural and garden crops
  - plants, especially grasses and forbs
  - grasses, fruits, seeds, insects, bark and fungi
  - many field crops, especially when populations are high
  - nuts, most fruits, and tree needles
* eat the bark of young trees in winter
  - grass, as well as seeds from many plants
  - roots of plants for the most part
* enjoy freedom.
* feed on bulbs, plant roots, root crops and tree bark and roots
  - grass and use tunnels to move about under the snow
* forage through a network of tunnels in the world between ground and snowpack.
* form colonies
  - huge colonies
* generally die out when in enclosed space, regardless of predator presence
  - use the tunnels that moles make
* have a high reproductive potential
  - number of unusual chromosomal traits
  - varied diet and are considered omnivores
  - broader faces than other small rodents with smaller ears and beady eyes
  - other common names, including meadow mice, ground moles, field mice, and meadow moles
  - life spans, ranging from two to sixteen months
  - tails and small eyes and feet
  - chest cavities
  - pedal extremities
  - vertebrate feet
* invade abandoned tunnels made by moles and gophers rather than dig their own.
* leave no mounds at all behind
* like to eat the roots of plants.
* live about one year.
* live in a wide variety of habitats at elevations ranging from sea level to high mountains
  - where they have adequate overhead cover from predators and a sufficient food supply
* make runways through the grass.
* nest underground, eating bark from the roots near the surface.
* occupy a large area of the planet, including most of North America
  - areas with heavy ground cover, grasses, grass-like plants or litter
* often damage lawns and golf courses by constructing runways and burrow systems
  - turn cannibalistic and a trap with fragments of skin usually indicates additional voles
* outwardly resemble several other small animals.
* prefer soft ground so that they are usually found in areas with a thick layer of peat.
* primarily eat roots and bulbs.
* readily girdle small trees and ground cover much like a porcupine.
* reproduce throughout the entire year, with peak rates in the spring and summer.
* require a full canopy cover for protection from predators.
* resemble mice, but they are much smaller, with shorter tails and smaller eyes and ears
  - rats and mice but have shorter tails and heavier, cylindrical bodies
* search for food sources
* serve as a delicious meal to owls, snakes, hawks, coyotes, foxes, badgers, mink and weasels.
* tend to live in burrows that have various exit holes.
* tunnel through snow to any depth
  - under litter and eat the root system of plants
* use mole tunnels to navigate underground and save themselves some digging
* usually damage plants at or just beneath the soil surface, making adequate coverage difficult
  - nest near the base of a tree trunk
  - spend majority of their time underground and are pure herbivores in nature