What is the difference between a water vole and a rat?

But how do you know if you've seen a water vole - or was it the more common brown rat?...Water vole vs brown rat.

Water vole	Brown rat
Rounded, blunt face	Pointy face
Brown furry tail, half length of body	Long pink tail, full length of body
Small hidden ears	Visible pink ears
Furry paws	Pink paws

Table Of Contents

What is the difference between a water vole and a rat?

But how do you know if you've seen a water vole - or was it the more common brown rat?...Water vole vs brown rat.

Water vole	Brown rat
Rounded, blunt face	Pointy face
Brown furry tail, half length of body	Long pink tail, full length of body
Small hidden ears	Visible pink ears
Furry paws	Pink paws

How big is a vole compared to a rat?

Voles vs rats The typical vole is 4 or 5 inches long, where an adult black rat can reach 15 inches and more.13-May-2020

What can be mistaken for a rat?

One animal that is sometimes seen and mistaken for a rat is in fact a small carnivorous marsupial - the antechinus. While there are several species of antechinus in Australia, they share several traits in common, which, taken together, can set them apart from rodents such as rats and mice.

What looks like a rat but is not a rat?

General Size / Appearance. Squirrels don't look nearly as much like mice or rats, as rats and mice look like each other. A squirrel's head is even blunter than a rat's, and its eyes are proportionately larger. Squirrels have fur on their feet and tails, and their coat can be a mixture of gray and brown.29-May-2018

Is there such a thing as a water rat?

water rat, any of 18 species of amphibious carnivorous rodents. They exhibit many adaptations associated with hunting in water for food and burrowing along streams, rivers, and lakes.

How do you tell the difference between a water vole and a rat?

Water vole vs brown rat

Water vole	Brown rat
Rounded, blunt face	Pointy face
Brown furry tail, half length of body	Long pink tail, full length of body
Small hidden ears	Visible pink ears
Furry paws	Pink paws

How can you tell if you have a vole or a rat?

Similarly to mice, rats can resemble voles in many physical ways – the color of the coat, general body build, and so on. Just like rats are bigger than mice, however, they are also bigger than voles. The typical vole is 4 or 5 inches long, where an adult black rat can reach 15 inches and more.May 13, 2020

Do voles look like rats?

You might not have seen either critter since they're usually underground, but they look very different. Voles (Myodes) are small, stocky rodents similar to field mice. In fact, a vole might look like a mouse at first glance.