A semi aquatic rodent found in most of GB, northern and eastern Europe and parts of Russia. It lives in excavated burrows along rivers, streams, ditches and ponds, where there is lush vegetation that will provide important cover. Their diet consists mainly of grass and aquatic vegetation, with buds, fruits and roots also eaten when available. They are very short lived, with few living past their second winter. The American mink and unsympathetic farming and water management have long been causes of the decline of the water vole.