Lemming populations go through a boom and bust cycle. We saw lots of them in 2011, but numbers were low over the past couple of summers. It looks like they are experiencing a boom again. That usually leads to a corresponding boom in the predatory animals and birds that rely on the lemmings for food.
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| Lemmings are small arctic rodents with short tails, about the size of a hamster. |
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| Their population rises and falls in approximately 4 year cycles. |
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| They are at the bottom of the food chain for most of the land and air based predators in the North. Still, they don't seem to have any real fear of people. This one was happy to hang out in one of our excavation buckets and have his picture taken. |
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| They'd probably make good pets. |
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| This one looks particularly distinguished. |
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