Sagebrush vole
Image copyright by Mark A. Chappell

Sagebrush voles are -- as their name implies -- small, grayish voles that frequent sagebrush shrub-steppe habitats in western North America.   Like all voles they have short tails, legs, and ears, long fur, and as a result look like little furry balls with small black eyes at one end.   I photographed this on animal at the Sierra Nevada Aquatic Research Lab in Mono County, California.

digital capture, Canon 1D Mk. II, 500 IS lens plus extension tubes and a 1.4X converter and electronic flash (2006)