Nivean and Subnivean

Did you know that the word nivean means snowy (and thus nivea means snow-white - think of the white cream branded Nivea)

The nivean conditions keep me inside, but there is also a whole world that operates at the subnivean level. This is where voles, mice and other small animals live in the winter, the area that is just above the ground and just beneath the snowpack. It forms a sheltered area that insulates them, and the temperature tends to be more stable for hibernal animals.

I know that when the snowpack starts melting, the little animal trails that were hidden start to become evident. Picture foxes hunting in the snow and pouncing on a little animal making noise beneath it ... I wonder how many activities are going on beneath that snowpack, invisible to us?