water vole
(Arvicola amphibius)
The European water vole is a semi-aquatic mammal, colloquially called the water rat, which reaches 0.35m in length counting the tail. It is native to much of Britain and has a wide distribution in Europe, but is absent from Ireland. The water vole has been added to Schedule 5 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 to give it full protection throughout Great Britain.
This definition is abridged from A – Z of tree terms: A companion to British arboriculture.
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