BRITAIN'S fastest declining mammal, the water vole, faces a further threat to its survival due to a significant number of cases of mistaken identity.

A new initiative Know Your Vole, launched by the Wildlife Trusts, aims to halt the further decline of the water vole and help the species recover across its former range.

Many people mistake the endangered water vole for the brown rat and accidentally poison them or disturb their homes.

Water voles have disappeared from almost 90 per cent of the sites they occupied in the last 60 years due to the loss of their riverbank homes and being preyed on by the non-native American mink. The discovery of a significant number of deaths through mistaken identity will have serious implications for an already vulnerable and declining animal.

Andy Graham, Water for Wildlife project officer of Worcestershire Wildlife Trust, said: "To a small and vulnerable water vole population any water vole is significant. The Wildlife Trusts are working tirelessly to restore water vole homes along riverbanks and to combat the serious issue of indiscriminate poisoning.

"The key to overcoming the problem is to build awareness of the characteristics of the water vole and for people to take an active part in reporting any water vole discoveries to the Wildlife Trust."

The Trust will provide technical information on identification to pest control professionals and developers, while providing identification guidelines for the general public to avoid further cases of mistaken identity. WWT is also pushing for full legal protection for the water vole under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.

The water vole has small hidden ears, silky mid-brown fur, a blunt nose and a shorter furry tail, whereas the brown rat has big ears, grey brown fur, a pointed nose and a long, pink and scaly hairless tail.