Lemming Lemming Synaptomys spp.
Lemmings are small mouse-like animals that live in the tundra.
In summer they are brown, but in winter they are all white. Their white coats help them to hide from the snowy owl and other predators who depend upon them for food in winter. Lemmings make simple burrows in the tundra during the summer, and they can make it very difficult to walk around. In winter, they hide from the coldest weather in shallow burrows in the snow. Lemming populations shrink and swell depending on how many plants and berries are available.