It doesn't often come out in my photos, I don't think, but there's a real difference between baby water voles just out of the nest, and older juveniles/adults. Babies are really quite a dark brown - 70% cocoa solids, I'd say, if you're using chocolate as an indicator. That's how you distinguish them from field voles and bank voles. But older animals are paler-coated, more like a mix of milk and plain chocolate. The photos above show four different young voles, which is reassuring after the heavy rain which can drown new and inexperienced swimmers.
Lovely photos! Have seen at least two different plain choc babies here in the last 2 weeks or so. I braved the rain on the way back from shopping just now, and had a brief glimpse of a somewhat bedraggled and soaked little specimen that swam just a short distance, and then popped swiftly into the first available hole.
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