Wood Lemming

About this species

Diet

Mostly mosses, with some grasses and bilberry vegetation

Habitat

Spruce-dominated taiga with deep moss cover

The wood lemming is a small arvicoline rodent of the Eurasian taiga. It has a compact body, very short ears and tail, and a slate-grey coat; adults develop a rust-coloured patch toward the rear of the back. Its unobtrusive colouring blends with shaded moss and litter. The species occurs from Scandinavia east to Kamchatka and includes Mongolia within its range. Its proportions and rusty hind-back patch separate it from longer-tailed mice, although confirmation may require close examination. (Wikipedia, wood lemming account)

Wood lemmings favour spruce forest with a deep, continuous moss layer, using rotting logs, stumps and mossy rocks as cover. Mosses, especially Dicranum and related forest species, dominate the diet; grasses and leaves or stems of bilberry are also eaten. Animals travel farther in population-peak years, though movements are normally short. Breeding often begins in winter, and females may bear two or three litters of three to seven young. Their unusual genetics produce strongly female-biased litters in many populations. (Wikipedia, wood lemming account)

Description: Wildlife of Mongolia guide, Wildlife of Everywhere (wildlifeofeverywhere.com); general species information paraphrased from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)