On Sun, 23 Feb 2003 16:36:46 GMT, animaux
wrote:

lemmings


I LIKE lemmings.....:)

Importance to people
Inuit do not eat lemmings, nor do they make any use of their small
skins. However, those Inuit who support themselves in whole or in part
by trapping benefit indirectly from the "run" of arctic foxes that
follows each lemming peak.

One of the Inuit names for the collared lemming is kilangmiutak, which
means "one-who-comes-from-the-sky." The legend of lemmings falling
from the sky is common to Inuit all across the North American Arctic
and Scandinavia. It probably arose because of the sudden appearance of
lemmings when the snow melts following a winter of intensive
reproduction. Lemmings, particularly the collared lemming with its
presumed origin from the sky, were sometimes used by shamans
("medicine men") as a source of supernatural powers.

Lemmings are a vital part of the rather simple web of life on the
tundra, and they help to teach us how intricate even that simple
ecosystem is. Their burrowing changes the arctic soil. Their feeding
habits influence the composition of the plant community on the tundra.
And trappers appreciate them for another reason. Because arctic fox
numbers rise and fall according to the abundance of lemmings, the
income of people who depend on fox trapping for a livelihood is linked
to lemmings. The influence of lemmings extends far beyond the Arctic.
A lemming population decline may produce a surplus of Snowy Owls that
will, for a time, flood into southern Canada to the delight of bird
watchers. Meanwhile, the tundra ecosystem is gathering its resources
in preparation for the outburst of energy that will come with the next
lemming year.





Regards,

tomj