First of all, lets get one thing straight, LemmingsDo Not hurl themselves over cliffs and commit mass suicide. This rumor was inspired by the 1950's Disney documentary "White Wilderness". In it the makers of the film faked the lemmings jumping over the cliff to make the film more interesting. Hard to belive, but that film is the source of the myth. Lemmings do however undertake mass migrations every few years when the food supply runs too low to support the population of Lemmings. Come,and enter the world of the lemming!

There are many different species of lemming, the Norway Lemming being the most popular and the object of this site(at the present time anyway!). The Norway Lemming(Lemmus lemmus) is aproximately 10-15cm. long with a 2cm. tail. It ways from 5-7 ounces. Due to the cool climate in which they live, the Norway lemming has very thick, soft warm fur. It is dark brown on the back and head, and cream colored on the legs and belly. Lemmings have blunt snouts with many sharp teeth for chewing the tough plants, which they eat Their eyes are very small and hidden under their fur, but they hear quite well (neccesary to escape predators!)The Norway lemming's eyes are small and beady, and their whiskers are short. The claws of the Norway lemming are very long for digging burrows.

Habitat The range of the Norway lemming is throughout the mountainous areas of Norway, Sweden, Finland and northern Russia. The lemming is found at altitudes between 2,500 and 3,300 feet, although it may ocasionly be found at altitudes as high as 4,000 feet. The Norway lemming inhabits the tundra and taiga, especially in grassy and rocky areas. It likes open ground with dwarf birches and willows, as well as moss and lichen.
During migratory years however, the lemmings habitat preferences change drasticlly. The lemmings gather into huge hoards and move to lower altitudes, searching for food. Usually they stop in the mountain valleys and coniferous forests found and these altitudes, but if the urge seizes them they will make their way down to the coastline and occasionaly, even towns and cities. When the lemmings do move into cities they do not however go inside people's houses, as they prefer the cold.

Food Norway lemmings are herbivores, meaning they eat only plants. Because vegetation is scarce on the tundra, the lemming has evolved to eat almost all parts of any plant it can find. The lemming's diet consists of roots, stems, bulbs, lichens and mosses. They spend quite a lot of time each day foraging for food.

Predators in its turn, the Norway lemming is preyed upon by hawks, snowy owls, stoats and weasels, long-tailed skkuas and crows. Even though they have no natural weopons, the lemming has one efective defense: hiding. winter is the season in which the lemming is least vulnerable to predators, as they burrow under the snow and stay there within tunnels. During summer, the lemming rests under bushes and shrubs. Norway lemmings don't sleep; they only take short breaks from activity.

Reproduction Unlike most animals, lemmings have no distinct breeding season. Rather, they have litters throughout the year. Most breeding, however, is done in winter and spring when the snow is still on the ground. Durring the reproductive cycle lemmings make a spherical nest from fibers, mosses and lichen, lined with fur and lichen. The nest is usually built in a burrow or under a rock. The gestation period of the Norway lemming is twenty to twenty-two days. At least eight litters of three to nine young are produced each year, more if the population is low and the weather perfect.

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