ONE of Worcestershire's most vulnerable animals is becoming even more threatened because of a large number of cases of mistaken identity.
The water vole is being mistaken for the brown rat by people including pest controllers, builders and developers, who are poisoning them or disturbing their homes.
Worcestershire Wildlife Trust is helping to launch a new initiative, "Know Your Vole", to help stop the decline of the species.
Water voles have disappeared from almost 90 per cent of the sites they occupied in the UK in the past 60 years.
The water vole has small hidden ears, silky mid-brown fur, a blunt nose and a short, furry tail.
The Trust wants people who spot voles to record the details on the website www.wildlifetrusts.org.
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