ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Creeping vole

Okay kiddo, so you know those little creatures called voles? They look like chubby mice with short tails. Well, sometimes they move very slowly and quietly through the grass or under the snow, almost like they're sneaking around. We call this "creeping," and so when a vole is doing it, we call it a "creeping vole."

Now, why do they do this? Well, voles are small and tasty, so lots of other animals like to eat them. By creeping along slowly, voles are trying to avoid being seen by predators like hawks, owls, foxes, and snakes. They also like to hide under things like rocks and logs to stay safe.

Creeping vole behavior is really important for the ecosystem, because voles are a source of food for lots of different animals. By trying to avoid predators, they help balance out the numbers of different species in nature. So even though they might seem cute and harmless, creeping voles are actually pretty important little creatures!