---
title: "What the sources say about the Norway Lemming | AnimalTracks.wiki"
description: "45 claims from the Norway Lemming profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it."
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canonical: "https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/norway-lemming/sources/"
---

# What the sources say about the Norway Lemming (*Lemmus lemmus*)

> 45 claims from the Norway Lemming profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it. A "..." marks a cut in a quote and [brackets] an insertion.

Profile: [Norway Lemming](https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/norway-lemming/)

## Lemmus lemmus. Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan.

https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Lemmus_lemmus/

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Mainly mosses, lichens, bark and some grasses | They mainly eat mosses, lichens, bark, and some grasses. (note: stats.diet) |
| They mainly eat mosses, lichens, bark and some grasses. | They mainly eat mosses, lichens, bark, and some grasses. (note: body diet) |
| black and brown fur with some golden-yellow streaks | Fur color is black and brown with some golden-yellow streaks. (note: body) |
| A Norway lemming weighs between 20 and 130 grams, and its body is 8 to 17.5 centimeters long. | Norway lemmings weigh between 20 and 130 g. Body length ranges from 8 to 17.5 cm. (note: body weight and length; grams and centimeters as written) |
| Males and females are generally similar in size. | the males and females are generally similar in size and color (note: body) |
| The first claw on each paw is larger and flatter than the rest. | The claw of the first digit on each paw is larger and flatter than the rest of the claws. (note: body) |
| That change helps lemmings tunnel through snow. | This modification helps lemmings to tunnel through snow. (note: body) |
| In winter they live in insulated spaces under the snow, which gives them warmth, shelter, access to food and protection from predators. | During the winter they live in insulated spaces under the snow. This provides them with warmth, shelter, access to food, and protection from predators. (note: body) |
| Red foxes, Arctic foxes, ermines, weasels, snowy owls and ravens are common predators | Common predators of Norway lemmings include red foxes , Arctic foxes , ermines , weasels , snowy owls , ravens , and other birds of prey. (note: body; ADW 'common predators', ravens listed under known predators as common ravens) |
| Arctic foxes specialize in hunting lemmings | Arctic foxes specialize in hunting lemmings specifically. (note: body) |
| A lemming's main defense is its burrow. | Their burrows, whether in the ground or under the snow, are a lemming's main defense against predators. (note: body) |
| When numbers peak, lemmings disperse beyond their normal range and may even move into forests. | During these peaks the lemming population will disperse beyond their normal range in search of more space and more food. They may even move into the taiga and forests (note: body) |
| They may turn aggressive toward each other when too many are close together, and males have been observed boxing and wrestling. | Lemmings may become aggressive toward one another when there are too many other lemmings in close proximity, and male Norway lemmings have been observed engaging in boxing and wrestling behavior. (note: body; reordered so the aggression is lemmings in general, as in the source, and boxing is males) |
| The Norway lemming's fur is black and brown with some golden-yellow streaks | Fur color is black and brown with some golden-yellow streaks. (note: vibe.reason) |

## AnAge entry for Lemmus lemmus. AnAge: The Animal Ageing and Longevity Database, Build 15, Human Ageing Genomic Resources.

https://genomics.senescence.info/species/entry.php?species=Lemmus_lemmus

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| The oldest one on record lived at least 3.3 years, and that was in captivity. | Maximum longevity 3.3 years (captivity) ... One specimen lived at least 3.3 years in captivity (note: body lifespan; AnAge Build 15 (2023), current source; ADW gives 3.3 as the oldest recorded) |
| The AnAge database's longevity record is a single captive animal that lived at least 3.3 years, and it rates the sample size as small. | Maximum longevity 3.3 years (captivity) Source ref. 671 Sample size Small (note: FAQ 2; 'single animal, at least' from: One specimen lived at least 3.3 years in captivity) |
| a single captive animal that lived at least 3.3 years | One specimen lived at least 3.3 years in captivity (note: FAQ 2) |
| weightKg: 0.07 | Adult weight 70 g (note: battleStats.weightKg; AnAge average) |

## Woodford (2003). Lemming Suicide Myth: Disney Film Faked Bogus Behavior. Alaska Fish & Wildlife News, Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=wildlifenews.view_article&articles_id=56

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| kin of the lemmings wrongly said to leap to their deaths | Lemmings do not commit mass suicide. It's a myth (note: tagline; lemmings in general, per Alaska Dept of Fish and Game; 'leap' from the film scene the article describes (lemmings leaping into the ocean)) |
| According to a 1983 investigation, the lemmings seen leaping into the ocean in Disney's White Wilderness were thrown off a cliff by the filmmakers. | According to a 1983 investigation by Canadian Broadcasting Corporation producer Brian Vallee, the lemming scenes were faked. The lemmings supposedly committing mass suicide by leaping into the ocean were actually thrown off a cliff by the Disney filmmakers. (note: FAQ 1) |
| Real lemmings disperse when they have exhausted the local food supply, as moose and beavers do. | When they've exhausted the local food supply, they disperse, as do moose, beaver and many other animals. (note: FAQ 1; 'they' is lemmings, the article's subject) |
| Lemmings do not commit mass suicide, says Alaska's wildlife agency, which calls it a myth. | Lemmings do not commit mass suicide. It's a myth (note: about lemmings in general; the article is by Alaska Department of Fish and Game) |
| A 1983 investigation reported that the lemming scenes in Disney's 1958 film White Wilderness were faked. | In 1958 Walt Disney produced "White Wilderness," part of the studio's "True Life Adventure" series. ... According to a 1983 investigation by Canadian Broadcasting Corporation producer Brian Vallee, the lemming scenes were faked. (note: body) |
| Real lemmings can swim and will cross water, and sometimes they drown. | Lemmings can swim and will cross bodies of water in their quest for greener pastures. Sometimes they drown. (note: body; lemmings in general) |
| lemmings stop at a body of water, build up along the shore, and eventually swim across | The classic example is in the Scandinavian mountains, where (lemmings) have been dramatically observed. They will come to a body of water and be temporarily stopped, and eventually they'll build up along the shore so dense and they will swim across. (note: body; zoologist Gordon Jarrell) |
| An expert on small mammals described the Scandinavian mountains as a classic place where this has been seen | said zoologist Gordon Jarrell, an expert in small mammals with the University of Alaska Fairbanks. ... The classic example is in the Scandinavian mountains, where (lemmings) have been dramatically observed. (note: body) |

## Kausrud et al. (2008). Linking climate change to lemming cycles. Nature.

https://doi.org/10.1038/nature07442

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Rodent population cycles in the north have puzzled people for centuries. | The population cycles of rodents at northern latitudes have puzzled people for centuries (note: body) |
| One study followed an alpine Norwegian habitat from 1970 to 1997. | account for the observed population dynamics of the rodent community dominated by lemmings (Lemmus lemmus) in an alpine Norwegian core habitat between 1970 and 1997 (note: body) |
| It found that winter weather and snow conditions, together with density dependence, accounted for the ups and downs of a rodent community dominated by Norway lemmings. | winter weather and snow conditions, together with density dependence in the net population growth rate, account for the observed population dynamics of the rodent community dominated by lemmings (Lemmus lemmus) in an alpine Norwegian core habitat between 1970 and 1997 (note: body) |
| It also predicted the lack of peak years after 1994. | and predict the observed absence of rodent peak years after 1994 (note: body) |

## Spitsyn et al. (2021). A new Norwegian Lemming subspecies from Novaya Zemlya, Arctic Russia. Ecologica Montenegrina.

https://doi.org/10.37828/em.2021.40.8

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| A warning-colored mountain rodent | Norwegian Lemming Lemmus lemmus is a remarkable population cycling species having a number of aposematic traits in coloration and behavior. (note: tagline; 'warning' is the meaning of aposematic) |
| plus a distinct lineage on Novaya Zemlya in Arctic Russia | Here, we report on the discovery of a distinct lineage of this species from Novaya Zemlya. (note: stats.habitat; 2021 paper, newer than Lagerholm 2014's Fennoscandia-only range; 'Arctic Russia' from the title) |
| Aposematic (warning) coloration and behavior | having a number of aposematic traits in coloration and behavior (note: stats.superpower; 'warning' is the meaning of aposematic, not in the quote) |
| Researchers describe the species as having a number of aposematic traits in coloration and behavior. | having a number of aposematic traits in coloration and behavior (note: body) |
| It was thought to be the only mammal found nowhere but Fennoscandia until 2021 | This species was thought to be the only mammal endemic to Fennoscandia. (note: body; 'found nowhere but' paraphrases endemic; 2021 is the paper's publication year) |
| until 2021, when researchers described a distinct lineage | Home / Archives / Vol. 40 (2021) / Articles A new Norwegian Lemming subspecies from Novaya Zemlya (note: body; publication year of the description) |
| researchers described a distinct lineage from Novaya Zemlya in Arctic Russia as a new subspecies | Here, we report on the discovery of a distinct lineage of this species from Novaya Zemlya. This lineage is described here as the new subspecies Lemmus lemmus chernovi ssp. nov. (note: body; 'Arctic Russia' from the paper's title) |
| That island lemming has cryptic coloration, the camouflaging kind, instead. | morphologically differs from the nominate subspecies by having a cryptic coloration. Our time-calibrated phylogeny revealed that this insular subspecies (note: body; 'island' = insular; 'camouflaging' is the meaning of cryptic coloration) |
| a number of aposematic, or warning, traits in coloration and behavior | having a number of aposematic traits in coloration and behavior (note: vibe.reason) |

## Lagerholm et al. (2014). On the origin of the Norwegian lemming. Molecular Ecology.

https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.12698

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| A warning-colored mountain rodent | Today, the Norwegian lemming inhabits the mountain tundra of Fennoscandia (note: tagline, mountain) |
| Mountain tundra of Fennoscandia, the region that takes in the Scandinavian Peninsula, Finland and the Kola Peninsula | Today, the Norwegian lemming inhabits the mountain tundra of Fennoscandia, a region encompassing the Scandinavian Peninsula, Finland and the Kola Peninsula (note: stats.habitat) |
| lives in the mountain tundra of Fennoscandia. That region takes in the Scandinavian Peninsula, Finland and the Kola Peninsula | Today, the Norwegian lemming inhabits the mountain tundra of Fennoscandia, a region encompassing the Scandinavian Peninsula, Finland and the Kola Peninsula (note: body range) |

## Amori (2024). Lemmus lemmus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2024: e.T11481A221786418.

https://doi.org/10.2305/iucn.uk.2024-2.rlts.t11481a221786418.en

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Least Concern | IUCN Red List category: Least Concern (LC). (note: stats.conservationStatus; GBIF copy of the Red List, taxon 11481) |
| The IUCN Red List rates the Norway lemming Least Concern. | IUCN Red List category: Least Concern (LC). (note: body) |
| No. The IUCN Red List places it in its Least Concern category. | IUCN Red List category: Least Concern (LC). (note: FAQ; assessment year left out (the DOI's 2024-2 is the Red List version, not read from the assessment)) |