RODENTS REWRITING HISTORY
NORTH OF THE British mainland, there’s a mystery hiding beneath the short grass and wildflowers of the Orkney Isles. Within sight of the magnificent remains of the Neolithic settlements of Skara Brae and the Ness of Brodgar, and in the shadow of the brooding Ring of Brodgar and Stenness standing stones, this mystery is living history, complete with whiskers, glittering black eyes, and a pedigree quite unlike any other resident British mammal. It’s the Orkney vole.
Voles are found all over the British Isles. But while those on mainland Britain are field voles (Microtus agrestis), those on Orkney are actually common voles (Microtus arvalis).
Common voles are, as their name suggests, common throughout mainland Europe, but entirely absent from Britain – apart from on those low-lying islands of Orkney.
