The small native mammals were released after their 'nemesis' American mink had been 'controlled'.
Water voles may make a comeback in the Lake District, where they once widely roamed the wet and grassy land before being almost wiped out by their"nemesis", American mink.
This week 204 water voles were released by conservation charities at Haweswater, after 161 had been rehomed on the Lowther Estate in July.It is hoped the rodents, which are smaller than rats, with more rounded faces and shorter, hairy tails, will create new habitats and boost diversity of plants that have been wiped out by monocultures.
Environmental organisations and landowners had been laying the groundwork by building up suitable river and wetland habitats and"controlling non-native predators".Water voles have disappeared from 94% of sites where they once lived, including the Lake District. They are Britain's fastest declining mammal, with population numbers over the last century falling from an estimated eight million to around 132,000.
The numbers plummeted mainly due to habitat loss, pollution and the"rapid spread of the water vole's nemesis; invasive, non-native American mink", the conservation groups said.
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