Do you know what lemmings are? The name seems familiar, but few people know what kind of animal it is. In today's article we will tell you where lemmings live. So - the lemming is this amazing animal.
Who are lemmings
Lemmings are small rodents of the hamster family. There are about 20 species of them on earth. Outwardly, they are all very similar to each other. The body of lemmings is dense, 15 cm long, the tail is short, only 2 cm. The color of the fur is yellow-brown, dark on the back, can be gray-brown or variegated.
Small ears are hidden in the fur, and the paws are very short. By winter, the hoofed lemming develops claws on its front paws. With them, like hooves, he shovels snow in winter in search of food.
Where do lemmings live
The habitat of these animals is the tundra and forest-tundra zone. Except North America, Eurasia they can be seen on the islands of the Arctic Ocean.
Lemmings live in burrows that they dig themselves. The burrows are a large number of winding passages. They often create a unique microrelief of the tundra and influence vegetation.
In winter they can build nests directly under the snow.
And in the warm season they make a nest in a hole.
Why do lemmings breed frequently?
Males do not live in the nest; they constantly move in search of food. Females become mature at the age of 2 months and are so fertile that they bear litters 6 times a year. 5–6 cubs are born.
Such fertility helps the animals maintain their numbers quite large. The fact is that their role in the lives of many inhabitants of the tundra is great. Lemmings are cabbage soup for them. There are periods when the animals multiply in unusual numbers - they cover the surface of the tundra like a fluffy carpet. And then all four-legged and feathered predators eat only them. Most often they are hunted by weasels, stoats, foxes, and even.
Thanks to this, animals give birth to more cubs, and birds lay many eggs.
Polar owls and arctic foxes do not begin breeding at all when there are few lemmings.
Lifestyle and nutrition
Lemmings breed even in winter. To do this, entire settlements of spherical grass nests with big amount passages-galleries.
They feed immediately on the soft parts herbaceous plants. They prefer sedge and cotton grass. After wintering, the entire tundra is strewn with the remains of a kind of plant debris from nests and droppings. In the spring, when the snow melts, the tundra looks polluted.
Lemmings eat a lot. With a weight of 70 grams per day, one animal eats 2 times its weight in plant food. Over the course of a year, this figure accumulates to 50 kg.
In the warm season they can be seen often. Someone is constantly running briskly between the bumps. The picture of a lemming sitting near a hole looks quite comical.
Sitting on its thick fluffy backside, the animal quickly waves its front legs, as if it wants to scare. At the same time, he squeals loudly and shrilly.
In search of food, animals have to migrate long distances. They move alone, but due to their large number it seems that they are in a flock.
They can swim across rivers and pass any settlements. And although they swim well, many of them die in the water. And on the ground - under the wheels of cars.
Lemming small rodent, lives in a flock of thousands of individuals.
Lemming belong to the order of rodents of the vole subfamily (Arvicolinae) of the hamster family (Cricetidae). Parrots are close to lemmings.
Appearance
All lemmings have a dense build, short legs and tail, and small ears hidden in the fur. Body length is 10-15 cm, tail length is up to 2 cm, animal weight is 20-70 g. The color is one-color, grayish-brown or variegated. In winter, some lemmings' fur becomes very light or white, and the claws on their front paws grow, taking on the shape of hooves.
Lifestyle and nutrition
Lemmings inhabit the tundra and partially forest-tundra of Eurasia and North America, as well as the adjacent islands of the Arctic Ocean. Active all year round. The winter is often spent in nests built directly on the ground under the snow, feeding on the root parts of plants. Some species commit seasonal migrations to summer "pastures". They feed on sedges, shrubs and mosses, often heavily eating away the surrounding vegetation. In a day, a lemming eats twice as much as it weighs, and in a year - about fifty kilograms plant feed. The lemming feeds all day long with short breaks; some species store food for the winter.
Social structure and reproduction
As a rule, they lead single image life. Some species of lemmings are characterized by crowded nests in winter; During the snowless period, females with broods often exhibit territoriality, and males move randomly in search of food. The female brings up to six litters per year, with an average of 5-6 cubs; With an abundance of food, lemmings breed even under the snow. Young females can bear their first litter at the age of only 2-3 months; Males reach sexual maturity at 6-8 weeks. Life expectancy is 1-2 years. The well-being of most tundra predators depends on the number of lemmings (ermine, arctic fox, white owl).
"Suicide of Lemmings"
A very common idea is that a mass suicide of lemmings occurs every few years. It is believed that in some years, when the number of lemmings increases very sharply, the animals follow each other or one of the lemmings - the “guide” - to an abyss or the shore of water, where they die. In fact, Lemmings are not gregarious
, pack or social animals, they move each on their own and do not follow leaders. Apparently, the myth of group suicide of lemmings was created back in the 19th century, when scientists noticed sudden declines in lemming populations for which they could not find an explanation. In 1908, Arthur Mee decided that “mass suicide” fit well into this situation and published such an option in his children's encyclopedia.
Subsequently, this version became widespread after the release of the film “White Wasteland,” where the scene of the mass suicide of lemmings was completely staged and was not filmed in the wild.
Fluctuations in lemming numbers appear to be related to the ability to reproduce extremely quickly, which is usually associated with favorable weather conditions and an abundance of food - a “harvest” year every few years, which can be explained by the lack of frost and sufficient rainfall in the summer. In a “lean” year in the fall, lemmings are forced to frantically look for food. They even start eating poisonous plants, and sometimes attack larger animals. The search for food forces lemmings to make mass migrations across vast territories. They usually move alone, and mass concentrations of them are observed only near water barriers. Some lemmings drown, although in general they are good swimmers.
An increase in the number of lemmings also increases the population of predators that feed on them, including the Arctic fox, ermine, and snowy owl. When the lemming population is low, these birds and animals have to look for other prey. The snowy owl does not even lay eggs if there are not enough lemmings to feed the chicks, and arctic foxes leave the tundra en masse and go hunting in the forests. Thus, life cycle many polar animals depend on this small rodent.
Terms and concepts associated with misconceptions about lemming behavior
Computer game Lemmings,
the slang word “lemming” or “lemmings”, denoting a person who does not have his own position, but acts “like everyone else.” Perhaps the source of the spread of this concept was brokerage slang, in which “lemmings” are market participants who massively buy shares in an “overheated” market and sell them after the collapse at a loss.
Economic importance
Lemmings are the main food of the Arctic fox and many other polar animals and birds. . They transmit pathogens of a number of viral diseases.
Types of lemmings in Russia
In Russia there are 5-7 species, distributed from Kola Peninsula to Chukotka and Far East:
Forest Lemming
(Myopus schisticolor).
Body length 8-13 cm; weight 20-45 g. Color blackish-gray, with a rusty-brown spot on the back. Distributed throughout the taiga zone from Scandinavia to Kamchatka and northern Mongolia; found in the north of the European part of Russia. Settles in conifers and mixed forests with abundant moss cover. It feeds mainly on Bryidae. In the tufts of green moss it creates a network of passages that continue on the surface with characteristic paths leading to feeding areas. It makes burrows in the roots of trees, in moss hummocks or among mossy stones. Females give birth to up to 3 litters per year, usually 4-6 cubs. Life expectancy 1-2 years.
The karyotype of a forest lemming has 32-34 chromosomes; Some females have a male set of sex chromosomes (XY). Natural carrier of the causative agent of tularemia.
Norwegian Lemming
(Lemmus lemmus).
Body length up to 15 cm. The color of the back is variegated, especially in winter: a bright color stretches from the nose to the shoulder blades. black spot; the rest of the back is yellowish brown with black stripe along the ridge. Inhabits the mountain tundras of Scandinavia and the Kola Peninsula; during mass migrations it goes deep into the forest-tundra and partly into taiga zone. It does not dig real holes and settles in natural shelters. It feeds on moss, green mosses, sedges, cereals, and additionally blueberries and lingonberries. During the spring and summer, females bring up to 3-4 litters, 6-7 cubs each.
Siberian lemming
(Lemmus sibiricus).
Body length 14-16 cm; weight 45-130 g. Color reddish-yellow, usually running along the back black line; does not change color in winter. Lives in the tundra zone of Russia from the lower reaches Northern Dvina in the west to the lower reaches of the Kolyma in the east, as well as on many islands of the Arctic Ocean (Novosibirsk, Wrangel). It feeds on sedges and cotton grass, green mosses (in winter they make up up to half of the food), and sometimes eats tundra shrubs. Most lives under the snow, in spherical nests built from leaves and stems of cereals, or in snow chambers. During the year, the female brings 4-5 litters, 2-13 cubs in each. It is the main food source for many animals of the North - weasel, arctic fox, ermine, snowy owls and skuas. Natural carrier of the causative agent of tularemia, pseudotuberculosis, hemorrhagic fever.
Amur lemming
(Lemmus amurensis).
Body length does not exceed 120 mm. The tail is shorter than or equal to the size of the hind foot. The inner (first) finger of the forelimb is shortened and has a nail-shaped claw flattened laterally, sometimes forked at the end. The soles of the paws are covered with hair. Summer body color is uniformly brown. A black stripe runs along the back, which widens on the head and in the front of the back, sometimes forming a wide spot. The lower surface of the head, cheeks and sides are bright, rusty-red. The color of the abdomen is also red, but less bright. On the sides of the head, a blurry dark stripe runs through the eye to the ear. Winter fur is long, silky, uniform, dark brown in color, with an admixture of gray and a slight rusty coating, a longitudinal dark stripe is barely visible or completely disappears. Some individuals have White spot around the lips and on the chin.
Hoofed lemming
(Dicrostonyx torquatus). 
Body length is 11-14 cm. In winter, the two middle claws on the front paws grow greatly, acquiring a forked shape. The color of summer fur is quite bright, ash-gray, with distinct reddish tones on the sides and head; turns white in winter. There is a well-defined black stripe along the back and a light “collar” on the neck. The belly is dark gray.
Distributed in the arctic and subarctic tundras of Eurasia from east coast White Sea to the Bering Strait, including New Earth and Severnaya Zemlya. Inhabits a variety of places: mossy tundra with dwarf birch and willows on slopes and watersheds, rocky tundra, marshy peat- and sedge-tussock areas; avoids lichen tundras. It feeds mainly on shoots and leaves (willow, birch), vegetative parts and berries of cloudberries, blueberries, etc. Summer storage of food in burrows is typical. IN summer period Territoriality is well expressed - a pair of adult animals occupies a hole dug in the ground. IN winter time they live crowded under the snow. The female brings 2-3 litters per year, 5-6 cubs in each. Sharp fluctuations in numbers are characteristic, but migrations are less pronounced than in real lemmings. Natural carrier of pathogens of tularemia, leptospirosis and alveococcosis.
Lemming Vinogradova
(Dicrostonyx vinogradovi)
Medium sized rodents. Body length up to 170 mm. Island species of the genus. Typical shape of open tundra. Largest number known in the dryad-shrub tundra, especially in its well-drained areas. Population dynamics are cyclical. The activity is polyphasic. It feeds on herbaceous and shrubby vegetation. Large reserves of branch food are typical. Digs complex burrow-towns. Leads a single-family lifestyle. Brings 2-3 litters per year, 5-6 cubs. Pregnancy lasts 20 days. They mature in 10-12 days. At 14-16 days they emerge from the nesting hole. Females are territorial.
Lemmings- These are rodents that belong to the hamster family. They also resemble a hamster in appearance - their dense body structure, weighing up to 70 g, and up to 15 cm long, resembles a ball, because the tail, paws and ears are very small and are buried in fur. The fur is variegated or brown.
live lemmings in the tundra and forest-tundras of North America, Eurasia, as well as on the islands of the Arctic Ocean. In Russia lemming lives on the Kola Peninsula, the Far East and Chukotka. The habitat of this representative of the fauna must be abundant in moss (the main type of food for lemmings) and have good visibility.
This peculiar hamster has interesting feature. The claws of some lemmings grow longer in winter unusual shape, which resembles either small flippers or hooves. This structure of the claws allows the rodent to better stay on the surface of the snow without falling through, and these claws are also good at tearing snow.
The fur of some lemmings becomes much lighter in winter so as not to stand out too much against the white snow. The lemming lives in a hole that it digs for itself. The burrows represent a whole network of intricate, winding passages. Some species of this animal do without digging holes; they simply make a nest on the ground or find places suitable for their home.
This has a tragic and, as yet, inexplicable peculiarity. small animal. When the number of lemmings grows greatly, the animals, first alone, and then, merging into a continuous stream of living bodies, move in one direction - to the south.
And nothing can stop them. A living avalanche crosses populated areas, ravines, steeps, streams and rivers, animals are eaten by animals, they die from lack of food, but stubbornly move towards the sea.
Having reached the seashore, they rush into the water and swim as long as they have enough strength, until they die. Scientists cannot yet answer what pushes small animals to commit suicide. This phenomenon is especially observed in Norwegian lemmings.
Lemming character and lifestyle
This small animal is a poor companion. Lemmings are naturally given a rather quarrelsome character. They do not particularly welcome the presence of their own relatives near them and even often start fights.
The lemming prefers to live alone. Parental feelings are not very developed in him either. Males, immediately after fulfilling the sacred duty of procreation, go in search of food, leaving the female with the offspring.
They are too aggressive towards the appearance of a person. When meeting, this animal jumps on a person, whistles menacingly, rises on its hind legs, sits firmly on its shaggy, lush backside and begins to scare, waving its front legs.
They can grab the outstretched hand of an overly annoying “guest” with their teeth, in other words, they show their antipathy in every possible way. And yet, to intimidate a serious animal for which the lemming is tidbit, he fails. Therefore more reliable protection for this crumb, however, his own hole or a dense layer of snow.
Some types of lemmings (for example, forest lemmings) prefer not to be seen by anyone at all. Despite the fact that they emerge from their passages several times a day, it is difficult to see them, let alone capture them. lemming in the photo extremely difficult. This animal is very careful and comes out only at dusk or at night.
Lemmin g has several species and among themselves these species differ in habitat and, as a result, in different diets and lifestyles. Russia is home to the forest, Norwegian, Amur, ungulate and Siberian lemming, as well as Vinogradov’s lemming. In both summer and winter, the animals lead an active lifestyle and do not hibernate in the winter.
Lemming food
Lemming feeding plant foods. Its food also depends on where this animal lives. For example, the forest lemming prefers mainly moss, but the Norwegian rodent adds cereals, lingonberries, and blueberries to its menu. The ungulate lemming prefers birch or willow shoots.
And yet, to the question “ what does a lemming eat", you can answer in one word: "moss." It is very interesting that the hoofed lemming and Vinogradov’s lemming store food for future use. Their less thrifty brothers have to make many passages under the snow to get to the food in cold period.
And the animal eats a lot. Weighing only 70 g, this hamster eats twice its weight in food per day. If you calculate it, it will be more than 50 kg per year. The lemming does not take food anyhow, but strictly according to the regime.
He eats for an hour, and then sleeps for two hours, then again - he eats for an hour, sleeps for two hours. Between these important procedures The process of finding food, walking and continuing to live barely fits.
Sometimes there is not enough food, and then the animal eats even poisonous plants, and when such plants cannot be obtained, the lemming attacks small animals, and even animals that are larger than it. True, more often, when there is a shortage of food, animals are forced to migrate and explore new places.
Lemming reproduction and lifespan
The natural lifespan of this rodent is short, lemming lives only 1-2 years old, so the animal needs to have time to leave behind offspring. For this reason, lemmings enter sexual maturity very early.
Already two months after birth, a female lemming is able to bear offspring on her own. The male is capable of procreation from 6 weeks. Very often the number of their litters per year reaches 6 times. There are usually 6 cubs in one litter.
Pregnancy lasts 20-22 days. However, at this time the male is no longer in the nest, he goes in search of food, and the female is engaged in the birth and “raising” of the offspring.
Uniform breeding time animal lemming does not exist. He is able to breed offspring even in winter, in very coldy. To do this, a nest is built deep under the snow, lined with dry grass and leaves, and babies are born there.
There are periods when there are a lot of these animals, then there is a surge in the birth rate of both owls and arctic foxes, because lemmings serve as food a large number animals. Behind lemming foxes, wolves hunt, arctic foxes, stoats, weasels and even deer. It is high fecundity that maintains a certain number of lemmings.
It happens that some species of animals are not able to reproduce at all, when lemmings have a low birth rate and there is a shortage of food. For example, the snowy owl does not lay eggs, and arctic foxes are forced to migrate in search of food. However, you should know that lemmings not only play a noble role as food for other animals, they are also carriers of various diseases.
...Charming tiny animals, very reminiscent of ordinary domestic hamsters, which for the time being live their ordinary life. And then suddenly, obeying an unknown signal, they flock into huge flocks, covering the tundra with a continuous, undulating carpet. And this living, swaying mass, on the orders of the leader (who, by the way, plays the role of a provocateur ram), suddenly rushes to the nearest steep bank, so that by jumping off it, who knows why, commit suicide to his already short life... You found out, right? This is roughly what we have been told since childhood about lemmings and their suicidal tendencies! Back in 1908 Arthur Mee
put forward this theory and even included it in his “ Children's encyclopedia" He also contributed to the confirmation of the myth of the mass suicide of lemmings. documentary « White Wasteland"(1958) - the creators couldn’t come up with anything better than catching several hundred lemmings and then, driving them onto a cliff, making them jump into the water... It’s good that the animals weren’t harmed: caught using a net, they took part (not of their own free will) , alas) and in the next take. But then, when the truth came out, a serious scandal broke out.
animalnewyork.com
Let us also note that lemmings, in fact,... They don't form social groups, therefore, obeying the orders of the leader of the pack is against their nature. The indispensable desire to drown, attributed to lemmings, also looks strange - these animals are excellent swimmers!
anderslundberg.no
There is very, very little truth in the stories about the “organized suicide” of lemmings. No doubt, in some years it occurs mass death animals, but this is not due to the mythical “suicide instinct” supposedly inherent in these animals. There is a much more prosaic explanation for the reason this phenomenon, which is based on an ancient and formidable factor, whose name is hunger... It becomes the “trigger” for the beginning of mass migrations of lemmings.
Tiny “vegetarian” lemmings are distinguished by an excellent appetite: for constant normal existence and additional heating in the cold season, these animals absorb twice their amount of food per day own weight! Over the course of a year, just one lemming eats about 50 kilograms of vegetation.
To this it is worth adding the amazing fertility of the animals - having reached sexual maturity at the age of 2-3 months, female lemmings are able to bear offspring several times a year (with favorable conditions up to 5 times!). Lemmings begin breeding under the snow, in early spring, and continues until late autumn, each litter with an average of 5-6 cubs. Impressive, right?
So it turns out that approximately once every four years the number of lemmings in a particular area reaches a critical number; they literally “shave” all the vegetation in a given area. Due to the lack of usual food, lemmings begin to include in their diet not only grass, which they usually do not like much, but also. When these meager resources run out, many lemmings set off chaotically and unorganized, and migration begins.
sciencenordic.com
Lemmings, although known to people since time immemorial, are still very poorly studied. And if the reasons for its beginning are more or less clear, it is completely incomprehensible, for example, why some of the lemmings, having covered a considerable part of the path and reached regions rich in food, do not stop, but continue, as usual, to run further? It has also been suggested that there is a mysterious disease of lemmings that affects congregations of animals against a background of hunger, but neither the mechanism of its development nor the symptoms have been properly described.
Most likely, sooner or later scientists will shed light on all issues related to lemming migration. Today, only one thing is certain: a lot of animals die during such mass movements. Some lemmings die from exhaustion, others become easy prey for predators, and some actually drown when faced with too wide water hazard or strong current. Thus, alas, there is a natural decline in the population of these animals.
By classification lemmings refer to subfamily Polevaceae (Arvicolinae) Hamster family (Cricetidae) squad of Rodents (Rodentia), in total about 20 species of these animals are known.
In Russia, in the territory from Chukotka and the Far East to the Kola Peninsula, the following types of lemmings are found:
- forest;
- Siberian;
- Norwegian;
- Amur;
- ungulate;
- Vinogradov's lemming.
All lemmings are small animals, the body length is various types varies from 10 to 15 cm, weight 20-70 g, tail length no more than 2 cm (in thick fur it is almost invisible).
Lemmings are sturdy creatures with short legs, whose pads are often covered with hair, their small ears are hidden by fur, the color of the animals' fur depends on the species and can be plain, motley or gray-brown. Some types of lemmings molt during the winter, their coat becomes very light, “camouflage”.
notasprensa.info
In the hoofed lemming, the claws on the 3-4 toes grow greatly, become flat and pointed at the end - they are very convenient for tearing snow.
national-travel.ru
Lemmings are inhabitants, they are very sensitive to both increased temperature and insufficient humidity. The animals set up several sleeping chambers underground, surrounded by a large network of branched passages; some species build underground storerooms. Other species of animals do not dig holes, but prefer to hide in rock crevices, under tree roots; they simply build winter nests in the snow. In winter, lemmings rarely come to the surface,
preferring to move under the snow. IN hibernation these animals do not fall.
The basis of the diet of lemmings is moss, mosses, lichens, sedges, subshrubs, young shoots of bushes and trees,
Sometimes roots, bark, seeds. Some species vary their diet berries(cloudberries, blueberries, blueberries), small insects, mushrooms.
Pregnancy in lemmings lasts 19-22 days, resulting in the birth of 2 to 9 blind cubs weighing about two grams.
The forest lemming is a rodent of the hamster family of the vole subfamily. Lemmings live in the Arctic, tundra and forest-tundra of Eurasia and North America. The life of rodents in cold climates is far from ideal. Every day the animal confronts difficulties and tries to survive . It's hard to imagine what it is cute creature can be aggressive and attack much larger animals, and it also becomes unclear what lemmings eat in their living conditions.
The forest lemming is a rodent of the hamster family of the vole subfamily.
Lemmings in the wild
Lemming is an animal characterized by a small body, the length of which rarely exceeds 15 cm. The rodent has a dense build, short legs and tail. Its weight is about 70 g. The animal is given by nature warm brown fur, which is found only among the inhabitants of the tundra. In winter it changes its color to white. The claws also grow, adapting to the ice.
Forest lemmings are active all year round and do not hibernate. In winter, animals dig nests in the cold zone of the tundra and practically never leave them. In the summer they can make migratory transitions in search of new food places. At the same time, the rodent lives alone. Males are not responsible for the litter and are constantly in search of food.
But the females are quite fertile. They can give birth 5-6 times a year. The number of cubs in one litter ranges from 4 to 6.
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