Name
- Common name: Lemming
- Including: Nearctic Collared Lemming, Ogilvie Mountain Collared Lemming, Nearctic Brown Lemming, Northern Bog Lemming
- Scientific name: Dicrostonyx groenlandicus, Dicrostonyx nunatakensis, Lemmus trimucronatus, Synaptomys borealis
- Order: Rodentia
- Family: Crecitidae
- Indigenous names for this species may be available through the Yukon Native Language Centre.
Viewing opportunities
- Look for huge mounds of sandy soil at the entrance to a burrow, paths cleared through grasses and haystacks built up for winter feeding.
- Lemmings may stand up on their hind feet as you walk by on the tundra and threaten you with a high-pitched whine.
Description
- Small, round body
- Thick set, appears neckless, legless and earless
- Short stubby tails
- Small beady eyes, often barely visible
- Long, thick, grey waterproof fur
Fast facts
- Length: 12 centimetres
- Weight: 60 grams
- Lifespan: 1 year
- Predators: Snowy Owl, gull, Wolverine, Arctic Fox, Ermine, Least Weasels, Red Fox
- Habitat: Tundra
Conservation status
- Yukon: Nearctic (S3S4); Ogilvie Mountain (S2); Brown (S5); Bog (S4)
- Global: Nearctic (G5); Ogilvie Mountain (G2); Brown (G5); Bog (G5)
Yukon population estimate
Not determined
Behaviour
Lemmings are active day and night throughout the year. They live in colonies using scent to mark a small territory and indicate social status. Distinct calls are used to indicate alarm, threaten others or courtship and mating.
Diet
Grasses, sedges, willow, aspen and birch twigs
Distribution
Sights and sounds
Burrows.
Lemmings and people
The fortunes of arctic trappers depend heavily on lemming population cycles, since Arctic Foxes and other furbearing animals depend heavily on lemmings as a food source.