Bavarian Vole
Microtus bavaricus
The Bavarian pine vole is a vole from the Austrian, Italian, and Bavarian Alps of Europe. It lives in moist meadows at elevations of 600 to 1,000 meters.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons (CC) via https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bavarian_pine_vole
Taxonomy & Classification
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Chordata
Class
Mammalia
Order
Rodentia
Family
Cricetidae
Genus
Microtus
Bavarian Vole belongs to the family Cricetidae, order Rodentia, within the Mammalia class.
Species Profile
The Bavarian pine vole is a vole from the Austrian, Italian, and Bavarian Alps of Europe. It lives in moist meadows at elevations of 600 to 1,000 meters.
The Bavarian Vole is critically endangered due to its extremely restricted range in the Austrian and German Alps, where it occupies only a few high-altitude meadow sites above 1000 meters elevation. Climate change poses the most severe threat as warming temperatures force alpine vegetation zones upward, reducing and fragmenting the species' already limited suitable habitat. Additional pressures from tourism development, grazing, and habitat degradation further threaten the remaining populations.
Key Facts
Threats
IUCN Red List: Critically Endangered
The Bavarian Vole is critically endangered due to its extremely restricted range in the Austrian and German Alps, where it occupies only a few high-altitude meadow sites above 1000 meters elevation. Climate change poses the most severe threat as warming temperatures force alpine vegetation zones upward, reducing and fragmenting the species' already limited suitable habitat. Additional pressures from tourism development, grazing, and habitat degradation further threaten the remaining populations.
Climate change and habitat loss
Extremely restricted range
Habitat fragmentation
Livestock grazing pressure
Tourism and recreational development
National vs Global Threat Status
How this species is assessed at the national level compared to its IUCN global status (CR).
| Country | National Status | Global Status | Comparison |
|---|---|---|---|
| EU | CRCritically Endangered | CRCritically Endangered | Same |
| EU | CRCritically Endangered | CRCritically Endangered | Same |
National Red List data sourced from the National Red List Project (nationalredlist.org, ZSL) and country-specific Red List authorities.
Community Sightings
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Sources & Attribution
How to Cite
IUCN: IUCN (2025). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2025-1. Available at: https://www.iucnredlist.org. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2025-1.RLTS
GBIF: GBIF.org (2025). GBIF Home Page. Available at: https://www.gbif.org
National Red Lists: ZSL (2025). National Red List. Zoological Society of London. Available at: https://www.nationalredlist.org
This page: SpeciesRadar (2025). Bavarian Vole (Microtus bavaricus). SpeciesRadar: Intelligence for Earth's Biodiversity. Available at: https://speciesradar.org/species/bavarian-vole