320 THE WATER-RAT OR WATER-VOLE. 



numbering five hundred, next spring may find only 

 twenty mated pairs spared to maintain thereon 

 the footing of the species ; and so on season after 

 season. In flat country they probably fare no 

 worse than in our northern hills, for, though the 

 floods spread over a wider area, the flood-waters 

 are less turbulent, food is more plentiful, and, 

 generally speaking, the cold snaps are of shorter 

 duration. 



The water-vole is seldom found at an altitude 

 exceeding eight hundred feet. It belongs to the 

 lush lowland valleys, where the growth along the 

 water's edge is rich in seed-producing herbs and 

 many varieties of green-stuff. Sometimes, but not 

 often, specimens are found by mountain lochs and 

 tarns ; but, so far as I know, the animal is never 

 resident there, and the occasional specimens seen 

 are probably ambitious wanderers that have loved 

 and lost, and finally lost their way. 



The water-vole does not exist in Ireland. 



BREEDING AND NESTING. 



The water-vole's powers of multiplication during 

 spring, summer, and autumn are not nearly so great 

 as those of the gray rat, and naturally the rate 

 of mortality is very much higher. The voles are 

 strictly monogamous, and both parents are to be 

 found with the young. The male, indeed, would 

 appear to be an ideal parent, since he certainly 

 helps his mate in her nesting activities, and seems 

 to possess a sense of kindly solicitude for his 

 offspring. Probably not more than two litters, 

 numbering from seven to nine per litter, are 

 produced during the spring and summer. 



Whether water-voles remain mated during the 

 winter would appear to depend on circumstances. 



