Lesser or red panda (lat. Ailurus fulgens). Strange and rare animals (61 photos) Red field mouse
The field mouse is a small animal that has a brown or grey colour back and light gray belly. The red-backed vole has rather large ears, and a dark stripe is located along its back. The family of voles is characterized by a small body size (up to 15 centimeters), and the tail can be longer than the body. Field mice live large families containing up to 10 sockets each. For a month, the pest processes and throws up to 60 kilograms of soil to the surface.
Despite the diminutiveness forest voles, like rats, cause a lot of trouble to the owners. The common vole is the enemy of bumblebees. She destroys their dwellings, eats insect larvae and honey made by him. This brings significant losses to beekeepers and can completely drive insects away from the site.
Practically all year round the main food of animals is the leaves, stems and seeds of wild herbaceous plants. The bank vole also feeds on berries and grain during its growth period. Gray voles also eat insects, their larvae and some invertebrates.
Lifestyle
The way of life of rodents is subject to the principle of seasonality. Also, the biorhythms of animals are dependent on the length of daylight hours. The air temperature and, accordingly, the time of year also have a significant impact on the way of life.
In summer and spring, forest voles are active in the afternoon: at night. How do they live in winter? In winter and autumn, gray voles and rats are active in the middle of the day. The animal does not hibernate in winter. E minks during this period are natural shelters or passages underground.
Mink gray voles, like rats, "line up" up to 4 meters high. They are usually equipped with several exits, one of which leads to water. The mouse lives in a house with a specially equipped chamber. In winter, food stocks are stored in it.
It is worth noting that water vole living near swamps does not dig holes. She lives in a spherical house made mostly of grass. The dwelling is located at a height, on a bush.
Video "Vole in nature"
The “protagonist” of the video is a field mouse, which gradually eats a piece of bread.
Distribution and reproduction
Rats and forest voles live on the territory of the former Soviet Union, in Siberia, Kazakhstan, on Far East. In Ukraine, rodents live on the territory of the Carpathians, the region of the Azov and Black Seas, where the water vole is found. The bank vole feels uncomfortable in the dry steppes near Sivash, so it does not live there.
Forest voles prefer to live in the forests of the forest-steppe. Rodents are most often found on cultivated fields or hills, rising above sea level by almost one and a half kilometers.
bank vole loves wet areas very much, so you can meet it on grassy meadows and fields. With great desire red gray vole settles in vineyards, orchards, in valleys, which is very harmful to gardeners.
The underground vole places its dwellings among the roots of plants. When the cold comes, pests easily hide in stacks of straw and piles of fallen leaves. Sometimes the field mouse makes its way into human dwellings or grain stores, which does not please the farmers.
The bank vole breeds actively in spring. Rodent cubs appear in specially equipped chambers, the bottom of which is covered with dry grass. From this part of the dwelling there are several paths that go to the surface. For a year, the female, on average, gives 4 offspring of 5-8 cubs. Pregnancy lasts 22 days.
The interval between offspring is about two months. The mouse is born naked and blind. He is absolutely helpless. Further, the mouse is covered with fluff, grows and develops. After 10 days, it is no different from adult. Three-week-old babies are looking for food on an equal footing with other mice. And after a couple of months, the field mouse is already able to breed.
Harm
Despite their miniature size and cute appearance, mammals are of little use on the farm. They exist, by and large, due to the fact that they have time to steal from gardeners, farmers or gardeners.
Mice and rats, settling in apartments, warehouses or in the country, bring irreparable harm. They eat tree bark, green parts of plants, and gardeners' supplies, including grain. The red-backed vole causes significant losses, and when the rodent population becomes huge, it is impossible to estimate the losses from spoiled crops at all. Therefore, it is in the interests of the gardeners themselves not to allow an increase in the mouse family.
To choose the right tool, you should decide what results you are trying to achieve. And also by what method: humane or more radical. It is also necessary to take into account the environment in which disinfection activities are planned. After all, when getting rid of rodents, domestic animals or livestock should not suffer.
The underground vole is afraid of "Storm" wax tablets. This preparation can reliably protect the crop that the pest feeds on. The substance is scattered in burrows, as well as other places where the bank vole loves or can be. The main thing is not to take the drug with your hands. After all, rats can smell a person and will not eat poison. After consuming the poison, the life of the animal stops after 10-14 days.
The fight against mice is also carried out with Muskidan glue. It is applied to a plywood or cardboard base, in the middle of which the bait is placed. Getting on a sticky surface, the field mouse is firmly glued to it.
The water vole is afraid and natural enemies which can drastically reduce the population. For example, an owl takes the life of 1000 or more rodents per year. And for the fox and the marten, the red-backed vole is the only food. Therefore, they actively hunt for it. A ferret, hunting for mice, is capable of destroying up to 12 representatives of the water vole species per night. And the weasel, with its long and narrow body, easily penetrates the dwellings that the red-gray vole has equipped, and takes the life from its cubs.
The bank vole is a small rodent. Length 80-115 mm, tail over 50% of body length (4-6 cm), hind foot length 16-18 mm. The eyes and ears are small. Weight 15-40 g.
The coloration of the top is rusty-brown, of various shades, the belly is dark gray, the tail is sharply bicolored (dark above and whitish below), covered with short sparse hair, between which the scaly surface of the skin is visible. Sides are dark gray, lightening on the ventral side of the body. Paws and ears are grey.
The cheren is rounded, with weakly pronounced ridges; the interorbital space is not grooved along its entire length. The roots of molars are formed relatively early, the enamel layer of the crown is of moderate thickness. The base of the alveolus of the upper incisor is at least half the length of its crown from the anterior surface of the alveolar section M1. The posterior upper molar is most often with four teeth on the inside.
Spreading. The forest zone from Scotland to Turkey in the west and the lower reaches of the river. Yenisei and Sayan in the east. In the USSR to the north to central regions Kola Peninsula, Solovetsky Islands, Arkhangelsk, and the lower reaches of the river. Pechory; in the Trans-Urals approximately from 65 ° N. sh. the border follows to the south-east along the right bank of the river. Ob and lower reaches of its right tributaries. The northern border in the region of the Ob-Yenisei watershed has not been clarified. In the east of the range, it was found along the middle course of the river. Yenisei, in the western part of the Central Siberian Upland, on the Salair Ridge, Altai and Sayan Mountains. The southern border runs along the Carpathians, insular and floodplain forests of Ukraine, Voronezh, Saratov and Kuibyshev regions, through the Uralsk region, and in Western Siberia coincides with the northern border of the forest-steppe; the most southern of the currently known locations is the Samara forest on the river. Dnieper (Dnepropetrovsk region), extreme western regions Rostov region on the border with Donetsk. There is an isolated locality in the southwestern Transcaucasia (Adzhar-Imeretinsky ridge).
Inhabitant of the forest zone. Penetrates through forested islands in the steppe. Inhabits all types of forests. In winter, it often lives in stacks, haystacks and human buildings. It reaches the highest abundance in broad-leaved and coniferous-wide deciduous forests European type. Near the boundaries of the range, when living together with both of the following species, it lives on burned areas, clearings, forest edges and in deciduous forests, especially those with rich grass cover. In the subzone of coniferous-deciduous forest highest density reaches spruce forests, especially blueberry spruce forests, green moss and stream spruce forests with abundant shrub undergrowth. AT mountain forests found up to a height of 1600 m a.s.l. m. (Sayan Mountains, Soviet Carpathians). In autumn and winter it occurs in haystacks, sheds and buildings.
Most often, the bank vole settles in various natural, relatively open shelters in the roots of stumps and tussocks, under ectropions, in the voids of fallen trunks, etc. Burrows are usually short; usually voles more often “mine” the thickness of moss or forest litter. Nests are placed in shelters on the surface or in the near-surface layer, rarely builds nests on the soil surface or above ground. It climbs better than other species of the genus, and traces of stay are noted up to a height of 12 m; there are known cases of settlement in artificial bird houses-hollows and the withdrawal of young in them.
The bank vole feeds on seeds of shrubs, bark, tree buds, mushrooms, lichens and herbaceous plants, and also berries and mushrooms in autumn. If there is not enough food (usually in winter), it gnaws at the bark of young trees and shrubs. Sometimes insects and other invertebrates are eaten. For the winter can make small stocks of food.
The bank vole is active at night and at dusk. Leads a solitary life. Arranges spherical nests (from dry leaves, moss, feathers and other soft material) in hollows and rotten stumps, rarely digs shallow burrows with 1-2 chambers. It climbs well and runs fast.
The breeding season is from March to October. Pregnancy lasts 18-21 days. During the year there are three or four litters, in a brood from two to eight naked and blind cubs; in years favorable for wintering, reproduction can begin even before the snow cover melts. After 2 months they become sexually mature.
The number varies markedly over the years, sometimes very high. Life expectancy up to 18 months.
The bank vole damages forest plantings, fruit trees, stocks of vegetables in warehouses, and is a carrier of hemorrhagic fever. It interferes with the renewal of conifers and other species by eating their seeds.
Inside forest areas can be considered useful, as it is food for many commercial predators: foxes, martens, ermines, birds of prey and others.
Fossils are known from the early Pleistocene to Western Europe(England) and from the Middle Pleistocene in the USSR. Finds in the Crimea and on the lower Don lie much to the south of the boundaries of the modern range.
Geographic variation and subspecies. There is a development of brighter red tones in coloration in the direction from west to east and its general lightening towards the south. The size of voles increases towards the east (on the plains) and with height (in Western Europe). In the east of the area mountain forms smaller than flat ones and darker colored. The relative length of the dentition decreases from north to south.
Up to 15 subspecies have been described, of which 5-6 are in the USSR.
Literature: 1. Mammals of the USSR. Reference-determinant of the geographer and traveller. V.E. Flint, Yu.D. Chugunov, V.M. Smirin. Moscow, 1965
2. A brief guide to vertebrates. I.M. Oliger. M., 1955
3. Key to mammals Vologda region Vologda: Publishing and production center "Legia", 1999. 140 p. Compiled by A. F. Konovalov
4. Mammals of the fauna of the USSR. Part 1. Publishing House of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR. Moscow-Leningrad, 1963
Have you ever seen a field mouse? This small rodent, despite its size, can cause great harm. Which? Let's find out...
This small mammal from the order of rodents belongs to the genus of forest and field mice. The mouse family is one of the most numerous on our planet, it includes a huge number of species, but the field mouse is one of the most popular.
And it is also known because it has a very wide habitat. These rodents live in Europe, Siberia, China, Primorye, Mongolia, Korea and other places.
The appearance of a field mouse
How can you find out that you have a field mouse in front of you? Take a look at its back: if a dark narrow stripe runs along it, then this is exactly the same animal.
The body of the animal grows to approximately 12 centimeters in length. The tail of this species of mice is not very long.
Coat color is dark: ocher-gray, brownish. But the belly of a field mouse is light.
On the back of the mouse, a dark stripe is its hallmark. Field mouse lifestyle and diet
It should be noted right away that these mammals lead, for the most part, a nocturnal and twilight lifestyle. In the daytime, they have a more important task - to hide from predators, so as not to become someone's dinner. And to feast on the field mouse of hunters - more than enough!
And where can this little girl hide from keen eyes carnivorous hunters? Yes, anywhere: in a pile of foliage, a stack of hay, or you can climb into the roots of a bush and a tree. After all, for this case, field mice even build underground passages resembling a labyrinth.
Field mice are very prolific animals. And these little animals are able to very carefully trample down their “way back” on the ground, which is difficult to see with the naked eye. They do this in order to return to their shelter as soon as possible in case of danger.
The diet of a field mouse includes both products plant origin as well as some animals. Rodents eat greens from plants, a variety of berries and fruits, seeds, including cereal crops and also insects.
To feed yourself in winter time, field mice try to "settle" closer to human habitation. Sometimes they spend the winter in the barn, in the attic, or they can look into the kitchen.
The main food for a field mouse is vegetable. Despite the periodic lack of food, field mice do not lose fertility. Their ability to breed can be the envy of any animal.
About breeding field mice
The offspring of these rodents appears about 5 times a year. And each time one female is able to give birth to about 6 - 7 mice. That's the fertility!
Mouse cubs are born blind, but thanks to the enhanced nutrition of mother's milk, they quickly gain weight and grow up. Two weeks after birth, the mice become sighted, and after a couple of weeks - independent.
The benefits and harms of a field mouse
Many will say - well, what is the use of them? They just gnaw and spoil everything! But in an ecosystem, this is not the case. These animals are an important element of the food chain. Without the existence of this little tailed naughty, many birds and animals would be left without basic food, for example.
The high incidence of hemorrhagic or, as it is also popularly called, “mouse” fever was the reason for an unscheduled meeting of the sanitary and anti-epidemic commission (SPEC) of the administration of the Karakulinsky District.
As explained chief physician Karakulinskaya RB E.V. Babikova, the epidemic situation in the incidence of HFRS in the republic remains tense.
In her report, Elena Viktorovna cited the following figures: for 11 months of 2017, 2022 cases of the disease were registered in SD, which is 3.5 times higher than in 2016. The incidence rate for SD exceeds the national average by 28 times. The largest number cases are noted in Izhevsk and adjacent areas. Ours is no exception. The territory of the district is an active natural focus. For 11 months of 2017, 3 cases of HFRS were registered. All of these are adults. Cases of the disease in 2017, as in 2016, are mainly associated with agricultural work in private and public households, with outdoor activities in natural conditions(fishing, picking berries and mushrooms), the presence of rodents at the place of residence.
According to the results laboratory research conducted in the republic, the infection of the bank vole with the HFRS virus increased in 2017 to 20.3% (in 2016 - 3.4%).
The forecast for 2018 is unfavorable: the natural focus of HFRS is in an active state, a high number of rodents and their infection with the HFRS virus will remain. An increase in the incidence of the population and the occurrence of group diseases "mouse fever" is possible at objects inhabited by rodents.
What to do? Medical workers state: specific measures prevention of HFRS in the form of vaccines or prophylactic medicines no. The main preventive measures are the fight against rodents (deratization), the prevention of the penetration of rodents into the premises, the sanitary improvement of the territory (including the elimination of landfills household waste), personal hygiene, the use of personal respiratory protection equipment (masks, respirators) when working or in the habitats of rodents. These parameters are reflected in the decision of the SPEC on this issue. Recommendations were sent to the heads of settlements, heads of industries, enterprises, organizations and institutions of the district. Deadline is June 1, 2018.
Control over the implementation of the decision of the SPEC was retained by the Deputy Chairman of the SPEC S.A. Sharychev, deputy head of the administration of the municipality "Karakulinsky district" for the development of the agro-industrial complex.
V. Gibadullina, member of the SEC of the district.
Hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (“mouse fever”) is a viral infectious disease.
Sources of the disease are mouse-like rodents. Infected rodents shed virus external environment with saliva, urine, excrement. Infection of a person occurs mainly by airborne dust by inhalation of dust infected by rodents. The infection is not transmitted from person to person. Incubation period usually is 2-3 weeks from contact with rodents or traces of their vital activity. The virus affects all organs and tissues of the body, but the kidneys are more affected. The disease begins acutely with an increase in body temperature to 39-40ºС. After 3-4 days of illness, the temperature decreases, but back pain, thirst, and a decrease in urine output appear. At the first sign of illness, seek immediate medical attention medical care. Untimely access to a doctor can lead to dangerous complications in the form of infectious-toxic shock, acute kidney failure. Annually in the UR are registered deaths from GLPS.
Little animal of the genus forest voles- body length 8–12 cm, tail 4–7 cm, body weight 15–40 g. It can be seen at dusk, and sometimes during the day.
Usually this reddish, not very short-tailed animal snoops under the canopy of forest vegetation in fallen leaves and forest rags. And at the beginning of winter, as soon as the snow falls, numerous trails of bank voles will trace the virgin whiteness of fresh powder.
At the top left - the lower surface of the front and hind legs, respectively, of the bank vole, below - the litter of the animal; on the right - traces of a vole moving in the snow by jumping
Bank voles are lighter and more agile than slow voles. Perhaps their typical gait is light jumps 10–15 cm long.
The prints of all 4 paws are arranged in the form of trapeziums, like in mice and, while a short tail strip is often imprinted on the snow. These marks are easily recognizable. They differ from tracks in shorter jumps and a short tail print, and from tracks of gray voles in that the latter usually do not jump with such jumps.
But it happens that bank voles also move with a quick mincing step, exactly the same as other voles run, and in which prints are alternately located on one side or the other of the track - a snake.
The length of the steps is 6–8 cm. Such traces can be very difficult to determine. You have to look for additional signs that could suggest the correct answer, such as litter. In the bank vole, each of its grains is strongly pointed on one side, in addition, they are very small - 5 × 2 mm. The size of the front foot of this animal is 1.1 x 1, the back foot is 1.7 x 1.5 cm.
In winter, bank voles often fill entire trails from one mink to another, running back and forth many times. They usually run for short distances, and jump when they need to cover a long distance. These mobile animals can move away from the hole for several hundred meters.
Voles feed on leaves, buds and tree bark, as well as berries and mushrooms. Berries are used in different ways. Often on stumps and forest logs in autumn you can find a whole bunch of rowan fruits, from which only seeds are selected, and all the pulp is left as unnecessary.
But in rose hips, they often ate the pulp, and pulled out and gnawed the seeds. I remember waiting mushroom pore, I went to a familiar spruce forest, where in previous years I collected young strong porcini mushrooms. But this time he returned home with an empty basket. All the mushrooms that appeared on the surface were ground down to the root sharp teeth red voles.
The fact that this was their work was clearly indicated by the droppings left near the whitening stumps. Apparently, the year for the animals was not very successful, if they attacked the mushrooms so much. These voles gnaw on many types of mushrooms, including very bitter bile mushrooms.
In winter, voles pick up fallen or dropped crossbills fir cones and. cutting the scales to about half with sharp teeth, they choose tasty seeds.