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Water vole
In Episode 3 of Big Little Journeys a Scottish water vole faces highland giants, to find a new home.
Location: Cairngorms, Scotland
In Scotland a water vole becomes a triathlete - sprinting across a valley, swimming a loch and climbing a mountain to find a new home in which to raise her pups.
Journey distance: 8 miles
Destination: A new home in a neighbouring glen.
Weight & Size: 200g and small enough to fit in a human hand
Threats:
- Invasive American mink could kill every water vole in her valley in just a few weeks.
- On the mountain she is at threat from Golden eagles, thirty times her size, that can spot prey from over a mile away.
- Swimming across the loch she could be hunted by a giant pike large enough to swallow her whole.
Superpowers:
- Athleticism! She can scale a 700 metre high mountain and swim a loch 300 metres wide.
- She is a keystone species, which means that she helps to create opportunities for other animals to flourish. By eating a third of her body weight everyday in plants, and recycling soil nutrients by burrowing underground, she helps to keep biodiversity thriving.
