in a bid to save the endangered vole, the Wildlife Trusts (wt) have launched a conservation campaign to safeguard the mammal's future. Riverside building and changes in farming practices have contributed to the extinction of the furry-tailed, chestnut-brown vegetarian. Its demise is largely due to the American mink -- escapees from fur farms who inhabit the same rivers, streams and canals. The natural defences of voles -- swimming and bank burrowing -- are ineffective against the female mink which hunts its prey underground where it devours the voles and their young. Operating through local bio-diversity Action Plans, the wts are negotiating with local water authorities on the sensitive treatment of river banks and wetlands to encourage the vole's rehabilitation. These animals live on reeds, sedges and grasses and wts are ensuring that habitats are provided at all their riverside sites. In Staffordshire, Volehabs have been introduced on a canal bank where the height of the sheet metal piling has been lowered. While still protecting the riverbank against erosion it gives voles access to their burrows.
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