Trivia question for Jun-08-2011

Olivia fell in love with these cute little guys when she learned about them so of-course she is making them her trivia for today.  These are compact, thickly furred plant eating rodents.  They roam the Scandinavian tundra where many predators depend on these guys as a food source.

When the seasons are particularly good—short winters without unexpected thaws or freezes, and long summers—their population can increase explosively: they reach sexual maturity less than a month after birth, and breed year-round if conditions are right, producing a litter of six to eight young every three to four weeks. Being solitary creatures by nature, the stronger ones drive the weaker and younger ones off long before a food shortage occurs.

So here are Olivia’s questions:  Tell us what this rodent is called.  Also, these guys average about 50-individuals per 2.5 acres of land, but every few years they go through a population explosion.  Tell us how many can be typically found in the same 2.5 acres during such a population swell.

Good Luck 😉

Answer:

Congratulations to Deborah for being the first with the correct answer.  We post our questions on Twitter as well daily and this time she tweeted the answer first.  The rodent we featured is the Norway Lemming.  The Norway lemming (also Norwegian lemming), is a common species of lemming found in northern Scandinavia and adjacent areas of Russia. It is the only vertebrate species endemic to the region. The Norway lemming dwells in tundra and fells, and prefers to live near water. Adults feed primarily on sedges, grasses and moss. They are active at both day and night, alternating naps with periods of activity.

During population explosions, these guys can multiply to as many as 300 Lemmings per every 2.5 acres of land.  The Norway lemming has a dramatic 3-4 year population cycle, in which the species’ population periodically rises to unsustainable levels, leading to high mortality, which causes the population to crash again. This abrupt fluctuation, also found in related species, has given rise to the myth of lemming mass suicide.  Here is more on these resilient rodents:  Norway Lemming

Thanks for playing along 😉