An Albino Vole in Northeastern Kansas

Abstract

Albino prey animals are at a disadvantage in the wild because these animals are easier to see than their cryptic congeners, and thus are easier to catch. It was surprising therefore to catch an albino prairie vole, Microtus ochrogaster, on 1 April 1987. The animal was trapped in an old-field succession grid 16 km north of Lawrence, Kansas. This field is located in Jefferson County, Kansas, at the Nelson Environmental Study Area (NESA). The old-field succession site has been monitored continuously every 2 weeks since August 1984 by running two consecutive 400 trap nights. There have been five separate research projects conducted within 2 km of the old-field project, and none of these projects have reported an albino vole. The vole weighed 27 g and was a non-reproductive male. The animal was removed from the grid in order to photograph it, but was then returned in the expectation that it would survive long enough to reproduce. The vole did survive one trapping period, but was never caught again. This is the first known documented case of an albino vole in Jefferson County, and possibly northeastern Kansas. One other documented case of an albino vole in Kansas occurred in 1962. One female Microtus ochrogaster was caught in a wheat field in Neosho County, Kansas (Hays and Bingman, 1964). An undocumented appearance of an albino vole occurred in November 1948 in an area that is now part of the Fitch Natural History Reservation (Henry Fitch, pers. comm.). This area is adjacent to NESA, and is dominated by an oak-hickory plant community. However, in 1948 the area was a heavily grazed pasture. The vole was caught near a pond that was bordered by tall grass.