The UK’s population of water voles have fallen over the last 25 years, although they still remain the largest species of vole in Britain. You can set your browser not to accept cookies and the above websites tell you how to remove cookies from your browser. The grass around the entrance is often nibbled short to make a ‘lawn’. If you’re travelling up through the gorge, it is on the left-hand side, just past Cox’s Cave. Water voles have rounder noses than rats, deep brown fur, chubby faces and short fuzzy ears; unlike rats their tails, paws and ears are covered with hair. Adult water voles weigh 200-350g on average, and will consume approximately 80 per cent of its body weight every day, generally eating a diet of plants found on the banks of waterways. For further information visit www.aboutcookies.org or www.allaboutcookies.org. Adults each have their own territories, which they mark with fecal latrines located either near the nest, burrow and favored water's edge platforms where voles leave or enter the water. Set off from the car park at High Peak Junction, and cross to the canal. This is a very popular location for wildlife photographers. They range in colour from olive to black, depending on freshness. Voles also inhabit the surrounding area, including the mountainous terrain to the south. Our best wishes for a productive day. However, he water vole can be identified by their silky, yellowish-brown to dark brown coat, blunt nose, rounded body and long tail. They are often informally called water rats, though they only superficially resemble a true rat. Researchers found that the small rodents were living in a rough area of grassland, with some even existing by the side of motorway. The similar brown rat is larger, with grey-brown fur, a pointed nose, large ears that protrude from its fur, and a long, scaly tail. The water vole is sometimes known as the water dog, or even water rat in some areas around the country. They are hunted in Russia and considered a "pest" in much of Europe. They build a ball shaped nest of grass and other plant material. Water-vole prints are a similar size to those of rats, so can be tricky to identify, but there is a ‘starry’ shape to a water vole’s paw as the outermost toes splay out on both sides. The offcuts are often left stacked in small piles. The burrows have many floor levels that hinder flooding, as well as nesting chambers and a food store for the long winter months. They also scent-mark by using a secretion from their bodies (a flank gland). European water voles are herbivores. Learn more about the water vole with our expert guide which explains how to identify, best places where to see water voles in the UK and conservation efforts to protect the species. The water vole has a distinctive call of a rasping squeak when frightened and a high, shrill squeak when fighting, which you can sometimes hear before seeing them. However, according to Wikipedia resource, the most recent estimate of its populations in the UK for 2004 is around 220,000 individuals. Scottish water voles have a completely different ancestry to their southern cousins across the border. It is found in the northwestern United States and southern parts of western Canada. The breeding season lasts from March into late autumn. Water voles in some parts of England occasionally prey on frogs and tadpoles; it has been suggested that this is to make up for a protein deficiency in the voles' diet. Main image: Water voles are active during the day. They are hunted in Russia and considered a pest in much of Europe. Water voles (Arvicola amphibius) inhabit the Paleartic region, spanning most of central and western Europe, Siberia, Mongolia and some parts of southwest Asia (Nowak, 1991).