Title: 
Headings:  Mice and Voles
Mice
 
and
 
V
oles

by
 
Chuck
 
Fergus

House
 
Mouse


Content: Mice
 
and
 
voles
 
mainly
 
eat
 
vegetation
 
—
 
nuts,
 
seeds,
fruits,
 
leaves
 
and
 
grasses. Most
 
species
 
collect
 
and
 
hoard
foodstuffs
 
to
 
eat
 
at
 
a
 
later
 
time
 
and
 
to
 
subsist
 
on
 
over
 
win-
ter. In
 
a
 
small
 
way,
 
they
 
may
 
prey
 
on
 
insects
 
and
 
their
 
lar-
vae,
 
snails,
 
slugs,
 
spiders
 
and,
 
in
 
some
 
cases,
 
birds’
 
eggs
 
and
other
 
mammals. In
 
turn,
 
mice
 
and
 
voles
 
are
 
fodder
 
for
 
a
vast
 
assortment
 
of
 
predatory
 
animals
 
including
 
snakes,
shrews,
 
weasels,
 
raccoons,
 
skunks,
 
bobcats,
 
foxes,
 
coyotes,
domestic
 
dogs
 
and
 
cats,
 
and
 
even
 
animals
 
as
 
large
 
as
 
black
bears. Many
 
hawks
 
and
 
owls
 
prey
 
mainly
 
on
 
mice
 
and
 
voles,
and
 
the
 
larger
 
herons
 
take
 
these
 
rodents
 
occasionally. Mice
 
and
 
voles
 
live
 
in
 
nearly
 
every
 
type
 
of
 
habitat,
 
from
rocky
 
slopes
 
in
 
forested
 
mountains
 
and
 
low
 
boggy
 
meadows
to
 
urban
 
streets
 
and
 
inside
 
peoples’
 
houses. Some
 
move
about
 
on
 
the
 
surface
 
of
 
the
 
ground,
 
while
 
others
 
keep
 
to
thick
 
vegetation,
 
rock
 
crevices
 
or
 
tunnels. Most
 
feed
 
at
 
night
and
 
remain
 
active
 
year-round. Only
 
the
 
jumping
 
mice
 
hi-
bernate. During
 
bitter
 
cold,
 
the
 
other
 
mice
 
and
 
voles
 
be-
come
 
torpid
 
and
 
sleep
 
for
 
a
 
time
 
in
 
their
 
nests,
 
round
 
masses
of
 
leaves
 
and
 
grasses
 
whose
 
inside
 
chambers
 
are
 
lined
 
with
soft
 
plant
 
matter.