Social vole
Microtus socialis
igor_sikorskiy · Opuk Nature Reserve
Key facts in one look
- Size
- Body 93–116 mm, 20–38 g
- Diet
- Seeds, grain, green plants
- Status in Georgia
- Native, central and eastern Georgia
- Habitat
- Steppes, pastures, fields, vineyards
- Family
- Cricetidae
- Conservation
- LC / LC
The social vole (Microtus socialis) lives in families: a pair and its 1–2 litters share one burrow system, which is handed down from generation to generation. It lives on open, dry, grassy ground: steppes, sagebrush pastures, semi-deserts, fields and vineyards. In Georgia it occurs in the central and eastern parts, from Gori and Tbilisi to Shiraki, Vashlovani and Lagodekhi. It resembles the common vole but is paler and yellowish grey, with large eyes and ears that stick out of the fur. Like any wild rodent, do not pick it up with your hands.
Identification
Social vole: how to identify it
A small vole with soft, short fur, large eyes and fairly long ears that stick out of the fur. The back is yellowish grey, and the tail is short, slightly more than a quarter of the body length. It is most easily confused with the common vole.
The body is 93–116 mm long, the tail 24–37 mm, and it weighs 20–38 g. Males are larger than females. The form living in Georgia is one of the largest: body 95–115 mm, tail about 28% of the body length.
The fur is soft and short, without coarse guard hairs. The back is yellowish grey, often with a rusty tinge, and the belly light grey. The sole has five pads.
The common vole has smaller eyes, ears almost hidden in the fur and a brown back. Schidlovsky's vole is greyish brown or brown with a whitish belly and lives on mountain steppes. These species cannot always be told apart by sight, so use a photo to identify them.
Colour
Swatches are illustrative. Do not identify a species by colour alone.
Often confused with
It is a vole of open, grassy ground: steppes, sagebrush pastures, semi-deserts, fallow land, winter cereals, alfalfa fields and vineyards. It lives on black earth as well as on clay, sand and salty soils. In dry places it gathers in damper patches, and across its range it climbs to 2,000 m. In Georgia it has been found in Tbilisi (Turtle Lake, the Botanical Garden, Krtsanisi), in Gardabani Managed Reserve, at Lake Jandari, near Davit Gareja, in Shiraki, in Chachuna Managed Reserve and in Vashlovani National Park. To the west it reaches Gori, Kareli and Khashuri, to the north Mtskheta and Dusheti, and to the east Lagodekhi.
Seeds and grain make up at least 30% of its diet, with about as much green plant matter. Between 100 and 150 plant species are known from its diet, most often grasses, legumes, daisies, mints and goosefoots. In spring it eats mainly green parts, in autumn seeds, and in winter roots, bulbs and tubers. It also eats insects and molluscs. Each day it eats about 75% of its own weight, and it gathers 250–1,200 g of stores in its burrow, exceptionally up to 3 kg.
It digs its own burrows or takes over the tunnels of other rodents. A family burrow system has 6–35 entrances, and the tunnels run 3–30 cm below the surface. The nest chamber lies 30–50 cm deep and holds a round nest 11–16 cm across, woven from soft plants. It uses the same burrow all year, and the burrow passes on to later generations. A family is a pair with 1–2 litters, and more than half of breeding animals are monogamous. After drought, heavy rain or fire it moves to a new site at night. In the Caucasus it breeds all year, with a decline in December–January. Gestation lasts 21–22 days, and a female carries 1–11 embryos. Newborns are naked and blind and weigh about 2.2 g. Their eyes open at 10–12 days, and they start eating solid food at about two weeks old.
Globally, the social vole is rated Least Concern (LC, 2016). In Georgia the 2021 national assessment also rates it Least Concern (LC), with a stable population. Its range is fragmented, and some isolated subspecies, such as those of Crimea and the North Caucasus, may be under threat. Since the mid-20th century, overgrazing, drying and habitat damage have made its food poorer in some regions.
Related guides
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Yes, in central and eastern Georgia. It has been found in Tbilisi, near Gardabani and Davit Gareja, in Shiraki, Vashlovani National Park and Lagodekhi, and to the west as far as Gori, Kareli and Khashuri. It favours open, dry, grassy ground and fields.
The Latin socialis means "social", and the animal does live in families. A pair and its 1–2 litters share one burrow system with up to 35 entrances. The burrow is used for years and passes on to later generations. More than half of breeding animals are monogamous.
The social vole has larger eyes, ears that stick out of the fur and a yellowish-grey back. The common vole is browner, with small eyes and ears almost hidden in the fur. The two often live in the same places, so use a photo to identify one for certain and leave the animal alone.
No, it does not attack. Still, wild rodents can pass on diseases through bites, scratches, urine, droppings and fleas. So do not touch a live or dead vole with bare hands.
It is not threatened. Globally it is rated Least Concern (LC, 2016), and in Georgia the 2021 national assessment also rates it Least Concern (LC), with a stable population. Its range is still fragmented, and some isolated subspecies may be under threat.
References
What this profile is based on
Species profiles are compiled from peer-reviewed literature and established biodiversity databases, and are reviewed as new taxonomic and conservation data become available.
Prepared by the Reptiles.ge editorial team from the sources listed here.
