Is this a mole or a vole?
Do you know the difference between a mole or vole? Both of these small animals live underground and look similar, but they are quite different.
I have spent a lot of time outdoors hiking, camping, walking, playing at the park, or working in the garden. In all of that time I have never actually seen a mole or vole. However, I have seen evidence of them many times as I saw the lines of uplifted soil that shows their underground tunnels. Well, here is a short explanation of what these animals are and how they differ.
Mole or Vole – Appearance
Mole – This is a small mammal between 5 and 8 inches long. color. A mole has eyes and ears, but they are hard to see. This is because a mole spends the majority of its life underground!
Vole – This is also a small mammal between 3 and 7 inches long. They are brown or gray fur, small ears, small eyes, and a short tail.
A vole is actually a relative of a mouse and looks quite similar to them.
DIFFERENCE – If you look at the face of the animal the difference is apparent. A mole appears to have no ears or eyes, but on a vole you can see the eyes and ears. The other big difference is the front feet. A mole has big feet for digging, but a vole has small feet, like a mouse.
Mole or Vole – Food
Mole – Eats grubs or insects. They eat a lot of earthworms.
Vole – They eat roots and bulbs. This means that they can be a serious pest for gardens as they will eat the roots of the plants and vegetables.
DIFFERENCE – Moles are carnivores and voles are herbivores.
Mole or Vole – Habitat
These mounds of earth are caused by moles.
Mole – They live in forests, grassland, farmland, and just about any way there is enough soil for them to burrow in and look for food.
A vole tunnel in the grass. Photo via Flickr.
Vole – They live in the same habitats as moles. However, they live aboveground. Generally, they create tunnels through vegetation such as grass or creeping vegetation.
DIFFERENCE – Moles live underground and dig tunnels as opposed to voles which live aboveground and make tunnels through vegetation on the surface.
Hi! Great, succinct post on these two yard-destroying mammals. Funny story; last night I came out of the barn after doing some chores. It was dark, and I saw movement out of the corner of my eye. To the left of the sidewalk was a vole. He was approaching the sidewalk. I did a quick movement toward him to scare him away…he stood on his hind legs and performed a fake aggressive lunge toward me!! I stopped, thinking “No way he did that!” The vole proceeded to walk across the sidewalk, so I stomped my foot toward him. He reacted the same way, and stayed facing me (like he was daring me to do it again). After a few seconds, he continued walking into the grass on the right of the sidewalk. At this point, purely for the sake of sport, I stomped my foot at him again. He repeated the same behavior, then trotted off on his (surely destructive) vole business. I can’t find anything about this behavior online, but wanted to share. 😃
Hey Kathy,
Thanks for sharing! That sounds unbelievable. It is crazy that a little vole would act like that. I guess there are lot of tough little dogs that act way more aggressive than their diminutive size would lead them to actually be.