A relatively small, slender vole
with small eyes, prominent rounded ears and moderately short, slim
tail covered with a few short hairs. A bright chestnut coloured
dorsal stripe from the forehead to the base of the tail is diagnostic.
Face, flanks and legs are buffy grey. Weight 20 - 28 grams (Banfield,
1974).
Distribution
Global: C. gapperi galei
ranges along the Rocky Mountains from Colorado north to southwestern
Alberta and southeastern British Columbia.
Habitat
Red-backed Voles prefer cool moist
forests, especially areas with a lot of ground cover where they
can build nests under logs, stumps, and roots.
Threats
This species is probably stable
overall. The main land-use activity in the region is forest harvesting;
however, Fraker and Nagorsen (1998) found them to be common in 20-30
year-old regenerating stands (Cannings et al. 1999).
Biology
Mature territorial females will
breed from mid-January to mid-November, and produce litters of 1-9
young (usually 6 or 7). They are primarily herbivores that feed
on vegetation, seeds, and fungi, as well as some insects. In the
process, they disperse spores of mycorrhizal fungi and nitrogen-fixing
bacteria (Cannings et al. 1999).
