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Greenland collared lemming - DICROSTONYX GROENLANDICUS
Possibly Endangered
Class: Animals with Milk Glands (Mammalia)
The Name "Lemming": "Lemming" is the Norwegian word for the animal.
Location: The Arctic regions of North America, as far east as Greenland.
Habitat: Terrestrial. Arctic tundra.
Description: The coat is long and soft, grayish-brown, and it has a dark dorsal stripe in summer. This lemming turns completely white in the winter. The ears are small and almost completely hidden in the fur. The third and fourth toes of the front feet have large claws, which grow in the spring and drop off in the autumn. Length of head and body about six inches, with another inch for the tail. Fully grown it weighs about two and one half ounces.
Behavior: This lemming feeds on vegetation and is active chiefly during the daylight hours. It does not hibernate because it leads a subterranean life in deep burrows, which it digs with the help of its large claws and strong forearms.
Reproduction: There are one or two litters a year, each with three or four young. Both parents tend to the young, although the female obviously carries the largest burden during the 2 to 3 week nursing period.
Note: This subfamily includes about 100 species of voles and lemmings and is widely distributed in northern parts of both the Old and New World.
Go to the Rodents Page to learn more about all the gnawing animals.
Go to the Norway Lemming for
the only other Lemming listed in America Zoo.
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