Water voles are about the same size as rats and if seen they are often confused with rats. Water voles however have a blunt nose, chestnut-brown fur, short rounded ears and short hair-covered tail. With rats the larger ears and hairless tails are obvious. Water vole are usually found near open water as they can dive and swim with great ease (although not for very long), a tactic that helps them avoid predators. They occur mainly along well vegetated banks of slow flowing rivers, ditches, dykes and lakes, feeding on grasses and waterside vegetation. They live in burrows dug into the banks of waterways. Water voles tend to be active more during the day than at night.

Water voles usually have three or four litters a year, depending on the weather. In mild springs the first of these can be born in March or April, though cold conditions can delay breeding until May or even June. There are about five young in a litter, which are born below ground in a nest made from suitable vegetation, notably grasses and rushes. Although blind and hairless at birth, young water voles grow quickly, and are weaned at 14 days. On average, water voles only live for about about five months in the wild. Their most significant predators are mink and stoats; though herons, barn owls, brown rats and pike are also known to hunt them.

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