REUTERS NEWS SERVICE
Wed Nov 5, 2008 1:36pm EST
Lemmings in Norway hit by global warming: study
By Alister Doyle, Environment Correspondent
OSLO (Reuters)-Lemming numbers are dwindling in
Norway because of climate change, ending a
historic cycle of population booms and busts that
inspired a myth of mass suicides by the rodents,
scientists said on Wednesday.
Fewer lemmings-small brown, black or yellowish
mammals-in the mountains of south Norway meant
predators such as the Arctic fox were forced to
eat other prey including grouse and ptarmigan
birds.