A WATER vole with a rare and distinctive difference has been caught by hidden camera at a nature reserve in Wirral.

This curious creature has a Mohawk-style white stripe on the top of its head, leaving experts scratching their own heads for an answer. Even more intriguing is the fact that almost four years ago a visitor took a picture of a water vole with the same strange white stripe.

Experts are baffled as to whether this is the exactly the same vole or whether it is one of its offspring.

Tim Melling, RSPB casework and species protection officer, said: “It’s fascinating to see this. Such a small and distinct amount of partial albinism is very rare.

"There is a chance that this could be exactly the same individual, albeit a very old one, as they usually only live for about five months in the wild and generally for no more than three years. We may never find the correct answer.”

The latest footage was taken using hidden stealth cameras put in place to show how conservation work is helping the rare mammals.

Water voles are legally protected in Britain. Recent evidence shows they have suffered long-term decline in numbers, with disappearance from 94% of their former sites.

The Wirral reserve at the Dee Estuary has undergone large-scale conservation work by the RSPB.

The project included the building of new visitor facilities and will be finished and open to the public as "RSPB Burton Mere Wetlands" later in the year.