Unlike most water voles, these ones are fossorial, means they live in underground burrows, like moles. You can see the entrance to one of these burrows in the foreground of this photograph, with the Cranhill Water Tower in the background.

As water voles are endangered in the UK, this population and its neighbouring ones in other patches of grassland in the east of Glasgow, are of national importance for the conservation of this species.

#glasgow #cranhill #urbanwildlife #watervoles

It might not seem like much, but this patch of rough grassland in the middle of a mid-20th Century housing estate on the eastern edge of Glasgow is home to some of the city's most unusual animal inhabitants: Water voles which live no where near any water whatsoever!

Cont./

#glasgow #cranhill #urbanwildlife #urbannature #watervoles #fossorialwatervole #glasgowwildlife #nature #wildlife

The Cranhill Water Tower in the east of Glasgow. Designed by F.A. MacDonald and Partners in 1951, this tower square rather than circular, like most other Scottish water towers from the same period.

#glasgow #glasgowbuildings #glasgowarchitecture #watertower #cranhill #cranhillwatertower #architecture