Bank Vole

Bank Vole

Myodes glareolus

Silhouette: PhyloPic

Daily sighting probability ~40% · Likely
at Plitvice Lakes National Park

In 3 days ~80% in a week >90%

16 Verified sightings at Plitvice Lakes National Park From 2019 to 2026
47 In all 4 parks
July Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Bank Vole

The bank vole (Clethrionomys glareolus) is a small vole with red-brown fur and some grey patches, with a tail about half as long as its body. A rodent, it lives in woodland areas and is around 100 millimetres (3.9 in) in length. The bank vole is found in much of Europe and in northwestern Asia. It is native to Great Britain but not to Ireland, where it has been accidentally introduced, and has now colonised much of the south and southwest.

The bank vole lives in woodland, hedgerows and other dense vegetation, such as bracken and bramble. Its underground chamber is lined with moss, feathers and vegetable fibre and contains a store of food. It can live for eighteen months to two years in the wild and over 42 months in captivity and is mostly herbivorous, eating buds, bark, seeds, nuts, leaves and fruits and occasionally insects and other small invertebrates. It readily climbs into scrub and low branches of trees although it is not as versatile as a mouse. It breeds in shallow burrows, the female rearing about four litters of pups during the summer.

The bank vole is a small rodent resembling a mouse when young but developing a stouter body, a slightly rounder head with... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Recording0:05

Netherlands · 2025

© Jurriën de Vries · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0

Recording0:11

Germany · 2023

© Annika Oberlaender · Observation.org, Nature data from around the World · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Plitvice Lakes National Park 🇭🇷 Croatia
~40%
2 Białowieża National Park 🇵🇱 Poland
~20%
3 Cairngorms National Park 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
~10%
4 Snowdonia National Park 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
~10%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Essen 🇩🇪 Germany
~10%
2 Moscow 🇷🇺 Russia
~10%
3 Munich 🇩🇪 Germany
~10%
4 Helsinki 🇫🇮 Finland
~10%
5 Kyiv 🇺🇦 Ukraine
~10%
6 Brussels 🇧🇪 Belgium
~10%
7 Hamburg 🇩🇪 Germany
~10%
8 Kazan 🇷🇺 Russia
~10%
9 Cologne 🇩🇪 Germany
~10%
10 Birmingham 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
~10%

Zoos & Centres Where Found

# Zoo / Centre Country
1 Skansen 🇸🇪 Sweden In captivity
2 Ranua Wildlife Park 🇫🇮 Finland In captivity
3 Zoo de La Flèche 🇫🇷 France In captivity
4 Baltic Sea Science Center 🇸🇪 Sweden In captivity

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Bank Vole in Plitvice Lakes National Park?

Likely

About 40% of wildlife watchers report a Bank Vole sighting in Plitvice Lakes National Park on a given day, based on 16 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. Over three days the chance rises to about 80%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Bank Vole in Plitvice Lakes National Park?

July

In that month about 70% of wildlife watchers report a Bank Vole in Plitvice Lakes National Park on a given day, against under 5% in April, the lowest month. November and December have too few records to rate.

What time of day is best to see a Bank Vole?

Between 11 am and 2 pm

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Bank Vole sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Is Plitvice Lakes National Park the best place to see a Bank Vole?

Yes

Of the 4 parks where we can rate Bank Vole sightings, Plitvice Lakes National Park has the highest daily chance: about 40%. Next come Białowieża National Park (Poland, about 20%) and Cairngorms National Park (United Kingdom, about 10%).

Which relatives of the Bank Vole live in Plitvice Lakes National Park?

Same order: Rodentia

The closest relatives of the Bank Vole that you can see in Plitvice Lakes National Park (order Rodentia, Rodents) are Eurasian Beaver (about 40%) and Eurasian Red Squirrel (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Bank Vole sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Bank Vole is recorded against all the mammals logged in Plitvice Lakes National Park (16 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.

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