Is it any wonder I drink?

[Bucko]

Never heard of a vole, mole yes, vole no. So off to the trusty search engine:

Voles are small, weighing one to two ounces as adults. Their overall adult body length varies from three to five and one-half inches in the pine vole, to about four and one-half to seven inches in the meadow and prairie voles.

Voles are an important food source for many predators, including snakes, hawks, owls, coyotes, weasels, foxes, mink and badgers. Mortality rates for voles are very high. Life expectancy in the wild often does not exceed two months, and few ever live longer than 16 months. Not surprisingly, voles are very prolific animals, although the pine vole is less so than meadow or prairie voles.

The breeding season for all voles encompasses most of the year although peaks occur in spring and fall. Prairie and meadow voles normally have five to 10 litters per year and average three to five young per litter. Pine voles have one to six litters per year and average two to four young per litter. The gestation period is about 21 days. One meadow vole held in captivity had 17 litters during one year, totaling 83 young. One of the females from her first litter had 13 litters, totaling 78 young before she was one-year-old.

Many vole populations are cyclic. In North America, population peaks occur about every four years. These are not necessarily regular cycles, nor do they usually involve spectacular population explosions. Occasionally, population explosions occur that last about a year before the population crashes. These peaks have resulted in severe crop damage problems.

Prairie and meadow voles inhabit pastures, roadsides, alfalfa fields and other grassy or weedy sites. Preferred habitats include areas with fairly dense ground vegetation. Meadow voles are more common in low, moist areas or upland sites near water.

Pine voles live in timbered areas, underground or under the forest litter. They also inhabit fields surrounding timber, if enough ground cover is present.

Prairie and meadow voles construct surface runways that are easy to recognize by the closely clipped vegetation within them. Small holes lead to underground runways and nesting areas. Pine voles have extensive underground runway systems, and spend little time above the leaf litter and ground cover layer.

Now you know more about voles than you want to know. I couldn't find a receipe..... [img]http://205.243.144.43/ubb2/biggrin.gif[/img]