Lemmings are polar animals. Why do animals shed? Which animal does not shed seasonally?

Winter has passed, along with snowfalls and frosts. The long-awaited spring has arrived, the sun is shining - the best time to go to the zoo. But some visitors are dissatisfied and complain: why are snow goats so shaggy, and their fur sticks out in clumps, why has the fox’s fur lost its winter shine and looks somehow dull? Even usually neat wolves still look somewhat unkempt.
In fact, everything is very simple: our animals shed. In spring, they no longer need long, thick and luxuriant hair, without which they could not survive. harsh winter. It's time to replace it with another, lighter, summer one, which is half as long and less common. For example, a squirrel has 1 sq. cm of body surface, instead of 8100 winter hairs, only 4200 summer hairs grow, and instead of 14 thousand hairs, the white hare grows only 7 thousand.
The molting of animals has long been of interest to zoologists. Research recent years It has been established that, in addition to temperature, it is influenced by light acting on the animal’s body through the endocrine gland - the pituitary gland. For hare molt length daylight hours- the determining factor, temperature only accelerates or delays this process.
The timing of molting in wild animals depends on geographical latitude terrain. In some mammals and birds, along with molting, the color also changes: the light color is replaced by a darker one. The white winter color of the mountain hare turns gray in summer, and the squirrel changes from gray in spring to red. A similar transformation occurs with ermine, ptarmigan and other species. Here, too, everything is clear: in winter, animals become invisible against the background of snow; in summer, they are more difficult to notice against the background of earth and grass. This is called protective coloring.
The molting of animals occurs in a strict sequence and in each species in its own way. For example, in a squirrel, spring molting begins from the head. First of all, bright red summer hair appears on the front end of its muzzle, around the eyes, then on the front and hind legs, and last of all on the sides and back. The entire process of “dressing up” lasts 50–60 days. In foxes, signs of spring molting appear in March. Her fur loses its shine and begins to gradually thin out. The first signs of shedding can be seen on the shoulders, then on the sides, and the back of the fox's body remains covered with winter fur until July.
Almost all animals shed. But the inhabitants continental climate, characterized by sharp seasonal changes in temperature, changing cold winter and hot summers, they shed quickly, but the inhabitants of the tropics and semi-aquatic animals (giraffe, muskrat, nutria, sea otter) - gradually. Most mammals living in temperate latitudes, sheds twice a year - in spring and autumn, but some animals (seals, marmots, gophers, jerboas) - once.
Shedding is a natural process in which old and dead cells and tissues are replaced by newer ones. This means that the fact that our animals shed is an indicator of their health. But if shedding becomes irregular and is accompanied by various painful phenomena (as sometimes happens in domestic cats and dogs), this can really be a cause for concern.
Now comes the turn of the second question: why don’t we comb our shedding animals? Well, firstly, this is not entirely true: we still help pets get rid of winter fur. For example, the yak living in the Children's Zoo is regularly brushed. But this won’t work with predators - after all, a zoo is not a circus, and not all animals here allow you to touch them. But they are also not “abandoned to their fate.” Take a closer look: in some enclosures (for example, those of musk oxen) you will notice old Christmas trees or special structures made of different materials- the so-called “scratchers”. Animals scratch about them regularly and with obvious pleasure. And their winter wool is not wasted - employees then collect it and give it to birds and small animals, who use it to build nests. Such nests can be seen in the Night World.
Well, in conclusion, let's look at who is actively molting in the spring in the zoo, who needs to be paid special attention to, and who is interesting to watch. Molting is easy to notice in guancos, domestic llamas and vicuñas, foxes and hares, gray and red wolves, raccoons and raccoon dogs, musk oxen, snow goats and camels. Maybe you yourself will add someone to this long list?
M. Tarkhanova

Molting, i.e., the seasonal change of fur and associated changes in the skin of mammals, is an important biological process designed to ensure the integrity of the body as the main protective and heat-insulating formation.

For small insectivores and rodents that spend a lot of time in the litter and passages of burrows and are constantly in contact with a solid substrate, regular shedding is of particular importance, since their hair quickly wears out and requires timely replacement. The need to periodically change fur is also dictated by seasonal climate changes, being a means of increasing heat transfer in summer and decreasing it in winter. As our research has shown, the timing and intensity of molting varies depending on gender and age, as well as on the physiological state of the animals, food and weather conditions. Therefore, specific features of the course and rate of molting in animals of different age and sex groups can serve as a kind of indicator of the state of the entire population and signal serious violations of important ecological, physiological and population processes.

Most authors, discussing the course of spring molting in shrews, describe waves of long and short hair, following each other in a special order in different parts of the animal’s body, but do not report anything about the darkening of the flesh. Meanwhile, when considering autumn molting, they specifically emphasize this phenomenon. They are all unanimous in the opinion that autumn molting begins in the sacral region and continues towards the head, gradually moving to the ventral side. Spring molting, on the contrary, begins from the head and spreads laterally to the tail and belly. However, other authors argue that the spring moult common shrew passes in the reverse order: it begins on the ventral side of the body and ends on the dorsal side.

The fact that in the spring no characteristic changes in the skin (pigmentation of the inner layer) were noticed led to the birth of a hypothesis according to which shrews do not have normal spring molting (growth of new hair), but a so-called “reduction” occurs - breaking off the last segments of winter hair along the constrictions and the transition of part of the guard hairs to down hairs. This hypothesis was criticized by later researchers, who had in their collections specimens in the stage of normal spring molting with dark spots on the flesh and the growth of new hair. Cases when the animal had both short and long hair on different parts skins (for example, long on the belly and short on the back) with a sharp boundary between them, but without pigmentation on the underbelly, they considered it as a break in molting. Later, having abandoned the “reduction” hypothesis, Borovsky also came to this conclusion. According to his new ideas, waves of short and long hair pass through the body of the animal twice: once from the ventral side to the dorsal side and soon after that in the opposite direction - from the back to the abdomen. In the light of these data, it is not difficult to reconcile the statements mentioned above regarding the direction of the spring molt. V.A. Popov and Skaren observed the first phase of spring molting, and Denel, Crowcroft and other authors observed the second phase.

In Borovsky’s detailed work, which was later confirmed in the studies of a number of zoologists, it was shown that shrews have two consecutive moults in the spring, different in nature, timing and direction in which they proceed. Spring molt I (VL-I) consists of changing the six-segmented winter hair to the five-segmented spring one and passes from the ventral side to the dorsal side. During the spring molt II (VL-II), this five-segmented spring hair is replaced by four-segmented summer hair. It starts on the back and ends on the abdomen. Shedding can involve most or all of the animal’s skin (“full” shedding, in Borovsky’s terminology) or occur within a narrow (1-5 mm wide), gradually moving strip on the skin (“wave” shedding). In addition, intervals (breaks) in molting are often observed, and then the shrew may have both long hair on one part of the body and short hair on another without skin pigmentation. Such an “interrupted” molt is observed during VL-I in 40% of individuals, VL-II - in 22%.

Regarding the autumn molting of shrews, the opinions of various researchers are generally quite similar. They all agree that it occurs in a narrower period than in spring, begins on the back, near the base of the tail, spreads forward to the head, and then moves to the abdomen. They are less unanimous on the issue of the so-called “intermediate” molt. For example, Stein believes that a small part of the shrew population, in addition to the normal spring and autumn molts, goes through three more: one in their first summer, another in the second, and the last (third intermediate) shortly before death, in the fall (“senile molt” ). With regard to overwintered individuals, the existence of senile molting, which lasts from May to November, was confirmed by Borovsky’s research. At the same time, Crowcroft believes that the “intermediate” summer molt represents a delayed spring or early-started autumn molt. Skaren agrees with this.

According to many years of research by Borovsky, representatives of the genera Sorex and Neomys undergo four molts during their lives: autumn, two spring and senile, and in shrews a juvenile molt is also observed. U different types In shrews, these molts occur synchronously in time and direction: autumn - from the head to the abdomen, spring - first from the abdomen to the back, and then from the back of the back to the abdomen, senile - diffusely, juvenile - from the ventral side to the back. Only VL-II differs in timing; in shrews it occurs later than in shrews.

Based on our data, presented in the relevant sections of the first chapter, we can conclude that there are no significant species differences in the timing, intensity and course of seasonal molts. Meanwhile, the connection with gender, age and the state of the reproductive system appears quite clearly. It has been established, for example, that spring molting in breeding females begins somewhat earlier than in males and females not participating in reproduction. The autumn molt of newly arrived animals in all species of Soricidae occurs at close intervals (September-October) and consists of replacing short summer hair with longer and thicker ones. The appearance of new fur is preceded by morphological processes in the skin (loosening, thickening, pigmentation). They usually start on the back at the rump, then spread forward to the head, then move to the sides and end on the abdomen.

In the spring, in April-May, adult (overwintered) individuals molt. Hair change begins on the ventral side of the body, gradually spreading to the sides, and ends on the back or head. The two-stage nature of spring molting with the opposite direction of fur change (in some animals it goes from the belly to the back, and in others from the back to the belly), we, unlike Borovsky, explain not by the existence of two spring moults, but by the non-simultaneous entry into molting of representatives of different age generations. Individuals from last year's spring litters, i.e., those that are older in age, begin to shed first. They form the imaginary VL-I with a characteristic ventrodorsal direction of the process. As for the second stage of spring molting (according to Borovsky, this is VL-II), it corresponds to the mass molting of animals of late (summer) generations and has a dorsoventral order of fur change. These animals apparently do not have a real autumn molt at all. Instead, they experience senile molting, which, as a rule, affects only individual areas and does not have a clear pattern. The conclusion suggests itself is that any seasonal molting - be it spring or autumn - if it is the first in the animal’s life, it begins on the dorsal side of the body, and if it is the second, on the ventral side. Finnish researchers also come to deny two spring molts. Thus, shrews undergo two normal seasonal molts (spring and autumn), as well as a senile one, in northern conditions. In addition, the shrew has a juvenile molt, while the mole has a compensatory molt.

A relatively large literature is devoted to the molting of rodents, especially commercial and semi-commercial ones. There are also works on mouse-like rodents - representatives of the genera Clethrionomys, Microtus, Lemmus, Arvicola, Micromys, Apodemus. However, the most detailed studies on seasonal changes in the fur of small rodents were carried out by Lehmann, A.I. Kryltsov and Ling.

Based on study mass species of rodents in Kazakhstan, A.I. Kryltsov comes to the conclusion that there is exceptional stability and uniformity in the sequence of hair changes in all voles of the Old World, which almost does not depend on the lifestyle of the animals. In the inhabitants of swampy meadows and forests - arable voles and root voles, in typical semi-desert forms - social voles, in semi-aquatic ones - water rats and muskrats, even in such specialized underground rodents as mole voles, the same course is observed, characteristic of most of the studied species change of fur. It occurs according to the sublateral (dorsal) type, in which new hair appears first on the lower parts of the sides and head, then the process spreads to the abdomen and back, and lastly the top of the head and back of the back fade. IN general outline The sublateral type of hair growth is preserved in all types of age-related and seasonal molts; only the sequence and speed of shedding of the head, middle and back part of the back varies. Only in some representatives of the genus Clethrionomys, as well as in the Norwegian lemming, all or part of the individuals of the species during one of the seasonal moults change their fur according to the cephalo-sacral type. The order of hair change in this case is the reverse of that described: it begins with two oval spots on the back of the back, then moves to the head and ends on the sides and abdomen. Old animals of all species have a diffuse type of molting, in which no regular sequence in its topography is observed.

Our studies generally confirm the conclusions of the authors cited above. The molting of the studied rodents follows a single plan and at approximately the same time. For voles, the existence of three molts has been established: juvenile, which, depending on the time of birth of the animal, can take place in spring, summer and autumn and ends with a change baby fur adults (summer or winter), and two seasonal - spring and autumn, accompanied by a complete change hairline respectively for summer and winter. The wood mouse, like probably other hibernating mammals, sheds its entire summer period from May to October, while molting apparently occurs diffusely; in any case, a regular order in the change of fur cannot be established. Autumn molting in all rodents is usually more intense than spring, the timing of which is extremely extended due to the heterogeneity of the population in terms of age. The timing and speed of molting also depend on the sex and physiological state of the animals. Thus, the molting of lactating females is delayed compared to females without signs of reproduction, but begins 2-3 weeks earlier than that of males. Juvenile molt of young late broods usually occurs faster than early ones, and nevertheless can pass into autumn without interruption. Adjustments to overall flow, pacing and order seasonal molting contribute climatic conditions year and the state of the population (number level and phase of the population cycle).

Owners of furry four-legged pets are well aware of the period when their pet’s fur is found absolutely everywhere, and even in food. This causes a lot of inconvenience, but is a completely normal physiological process. Not only cats and dogs are susceptible to shedding, but also other representatives of terrestrial vertebrates. All of them require special attention during this period. What and how to do during molting - we will tell you further.

What is shedding

Molting is a natural process during which the outer covering of an animal changes. For each class of tetrapods this process has a specific character. Yes, reptiles change upper layer skin, epidermis. Mammals and birds change their skin (feathers, fur, wool). Insects are capable of shedding body parts during the molting process.

Mammals and birds are characterized by seasonal molting. They change their plumage and fur from warmer to lighter, and vice versa. Along with the density of the cover, its color may also change.

Pets that shed

Pets that are susceptible to shedding include:

• (canines);
• birds (etc.);
• lizards;
• amphibians ( );

Did you know? Latin name of all four-legged animals, Tetrapoda, comes from the merger of two ancient Greek words: τετράς, which means« four» , and πούς -« leg» .

Features of the molting process in pets

We have already said that for each class of terrestrial vertebrates, the change in cover has its own characteristics. We will talk about them further.

In dogs

Natural shedding in dogs and all canines is seasonal (spring and autumn). Seasonal molting does not last long, a week or two. Young individuals experience this phenomenon for the first time at six months of age. To make it easier for your four-legged pet to cope with a change in coat, it needs to be brushed every day so that the fur can recover faster and tangles do not form.

The more intensely you brush your pet, the less hair will be scattered throughout the living space. It should also be taken into account that each type of wool should have its own approach. Smooth-haired dogs need to be combed and dried with a hard towel. Long-haired dogs need to be combed and trimmed.

During the molting period, the animal's behavior may change, as this process Quite energy intensive. The dog may lose weight and become more lethargic, lazy, and passive. To keep an animal's body in good shape, it is necessary to change its diet, making it more nutritious. You should also add more vitamins to the menu. Special vitamin complexes can be found in veterinary pharmacies.

Breeds that shed the least:

• some
• and some others.

Important!Pets living in apartments can shed year-round, or the period of seasonal shedding can be shifted. This is due to the constant high temperature and dry indoor air. Therefore, it is advisable to take the dog outside as often as possible so that shedding occurs at a certain time.

In cats

Little kittens exchange their soft baby coat for a coarse adult coat at five to seven months of age. This can last from several weeks to several months. It all depends on the breed. When the hairline has changed from child to adult, seasonal molting begins. It happens twice a year, in spring and autumn. Its duration is two to three months.

During this period, the cat becomes less active. To make the change of fur coat easier for the animal, it must be fed in a balanced manner and given a full range of vitamins. You should also brush it daily pet to rid it of dead villi and stimulate blood flow to the hair follicles for faster growth of new hair.

If you notice that your cat has been shedding for more than three months and its fur is dull, unhealthy, and falling out in clumps, you should contact your veterinarian. Perhaps there are some deviations in the pet’s health.

To prevent unnatural changes in cover, you should:

• regularly examine your pet for bald spots, bumps or spots on the skin;
• enrich your cat’s diet with B vitamins, choose more suitable food for his coat type and age;
• Regularly treat your pet for fleas, ticks and worms.

Breeds of low-shedding cats:

In birds

Parrots and canaries are common bird pets in apartments.

Parrots are characterized by seasonal molting. The change of plumage occurs gradually, and therefore the behavior of the bird does not change. During this period, it is enough to introduce minerals, vitamins, and amino acids into the diet. They will help the plumage recover faster. The bird should also be restricted from free flight. If a bleeding wound has formed at the site of the fallen feather, it must be treated with a solution of ferric chloride.

Canaries change their plumage once a year, and this process lasts about a month. The young animals are still undergoing a juvenile molt, during which the fluff is replaced by feathers. This happens in the second or third months of life and lasts until the chicks reach six months of age. The end of the juvenile moult indicates the achievement of sexual maturity.

Changing plumage in canaries is more energy-consuming than in parrots. Therefore, during this period their voice disappears, their appetite is lost, and their temperature rises. If the change of plumage occurs in the warm season, then the cage with the bird should be taken out to Fresh air under the sun's rays. In the cold season, it is necessary to create artificial lighting using fluorescent lamps. You need to include greens, fruits, berries, vegetables, eggshells, ash, and clay in your diet.

Important!Try to disturb the birds as little as possible. If they get scared, they can easily injure their fragile feathers on the bars of the cage.

In spiders

In spiders, changes in cover occur constantly, starting from birth. This is how their exoskeleton grows and develops. Newly born spiders molt about once a month. In older individuals, the interval between exoskeleton changes is two to three months. In adults, this process occurs once every three years. The approach of molting is indicated by darkening of the exposed area of ​​the abdomen.

The process of replacing the exoskeleton in arachnids can be divided into four stages: pre-molt, molt, post-molt and inter-molt stage. On initial stage a new exoskeleton is formed. Hormones are responsible for this. Because of this, the spider becomes very aggressive. Pre-molt lasts from several days to two to three weeks. During the molting stage, arthropods create excess pressure inside themselves, thus tearing the old exoskeleton.

This may take them from several minutes to several hours. During the post-molt stage, arthropods are very vulnerable.

Their new “shell” is still very soft, so they are not able to move and hunt normally. Recovery may take from several days to a month, depending on the age of the animal. On last stage the spider is completely restored and returns to its usual rhythm of life.

Did you know?During molting, arthropods are able to regenerate previously lost limbs.

In amphibians

Amphibians replace the top layer of their skin as they wear it down. This usually happens in summer time. The frequency of the process depends on the ambient temperature.

They molt regularly throughout their lives, since the animal’s growth does not stop, and the skin does not grow. The cover peels off in one piece. It cracks in one area of ​​the body, and the amphibian crawls out of it. To help themselves get rid of the old cover, animals rub against stones or snags. Some representatives of amphibians (frogs, salamanders) immediately eat old skin.

During the molting period, the main thing is:

• Take cats and dogs for walks more often.
• Birds, spiders, amphibians and reptiles should be disturbed as little as possible.
• Nutrition should be as balanced and varied as possible. Vitamins and minerals should be included in the diet. Fish oil should be added to the mammalian menu, sea ​​fish, liver.
• Cats and dogs need to be brushed regularly. To clean the fur from dirt, it is advisable to use dry shampoos that strengthen the hair.

Seasonal variability. Wild mammals in temperate and cold zones usually change their hair coat twice a year. This change of hair, called molting, occurs in spring and autumn, and accordingly it is called spring and autumn. Observations have established that in tropical countries and in the far north, the animals living there molt only once a year, and it occurs gradually. In mammals that live primarily in water, there is no noticeable spring or autumn molting. In some species of seals, molting occurs only in the spring.

When animals are domesticated, molting becomes irregular, so much so that in some areas of the skin hair change does not occur at all.

In connection with molting, a distinction is made between winter and summer hair. In most fur-bearing animals, the winter and summer coats differ in height, density, different quantitative ratios of guard and down hairs, shape, structure, hair color, thickness and density of skin tissue.

The greatest differences are in the structure of winter and summer hair in fur-bearing animals living in a continental climate, characterized by sharp seasonal changes in temperature. Summer hair is shorter, coarser, and less dense than winter hair. The downy hair is poorly developed.

In some species of fur-bearing animals, summer hair differs from winter hair in color, for example, the white hare, ermine, and white arctic fox, which change their white winter fur to dark summer fur.

The leather tissue of summer skins is coarsely porous and for the most part thicker than that of winter skins. The roots of the guard hairs are located so deep in the skin tissue that black dots can be observed in some places on the fleshy side. The fleshy side of the skin has a blackish, bluish or greenish color. Summer skins have little value. Their extraction in the USSR is prohibited by law for the vast majority of animal species.

Winter skins have long, fine and thick hair. Downy hair predominates in the hairline. The skin tissue on the flesh side is uniformly white.

The skins reach their fullest pubescence by the beginning of winter. The skins obtained at this time are called full-haired. By this time, the hairline acquires the best color for this type of animal.

The skins of various fur-bearing animals in different regions reach their greatest “maturity” in different time(in our latitudes between November and February).

The change of hair, called molting, does not occur simultaneously on all parts of the animal’s body; in some places it occurs earlier, in others later. The sequence of hair change in individual areas of different animal species is also different.

Molting begins in areas of the body called “molting centers” and then spreads to adjacent areas in a sequence characteristic of each species. In some animals, shedding begins from the rump, and then spreads to the ridge, hips, scruff, head, paws and womb; in others, molting proceeds in the reverse order, starting from the head and ending at the rump.

The periodic change of hair is determined by the cyclical nature of its development, characterized by the replacement of flask-shaped hairs that have completed their growth with growing new papillary hairs.

Shedding is associated with the formation of colored, usually dark spots visible on the fleshy side of dried raw hides. This phenomenon is explained by the fact that in dark places there are deep and closely lying pigmented hair roots. As the hair grows, its roots are freed from pigment and the color of the spot disappears. Therefore, in the light areas of the inner skin there are always grown or light, non-pigmented hairs that are in the growth stage.

The time of molting also depends on the age of the animal. Thus, in many species of fur-bearing animals, the molting of young animals occurs somewhat later than in adults.

There is also a dependence of molting on the sex of the animal. In the spring, female fur-bearing animals of many species shed earlier than males and their molting proceeds more rapidly.

Most species of fur-bearing animals shed twice a year. Animals flowing into hibernation, shed once a year. The mole sheds three times a year.

Double molting during the year occurs in the squirrel, water rat, thin-toed ground squirrel, white hare, brown hare, sable, marten, weasel, ermine, arctic fox, and mink.

Fur-bearing animals that hibernate (gopher, marmot, chipmunk, badger) do not develop new hair during their 7-9 month hibernation. They have one long molt of hair, which begins in the spring and ends by the time they hibernate.

This means that these animals do not have summer fur. In summer they are covered with thinning winter fur, consisting mainly of faded, dull, guard hairs.

Age variability. The hair and skin of fur-bearing animals and animals undergoes significant changes, with the most dramatic changes observed in early age. As a rule, newborn babies, growing up, at the end of the lactation period change their primary hair coat to another, secondary one, different in structure and color from the primary one. Age variability is characteristic of the hair coat of sheep, seals and white foxes.

Typically, the primary hairline differs from the secondary one in being more soft, tender and velvety; guard hairs are thin, differing little from fluff in thickness and length (which is why the primary hair coat is often called fluffy).

The primary hair coat also differs from the secondary one in its color, which is most often darker than the color of adult individuals. The exception is the white coloration of the lush hair of newborn seal pups (whites). The hair of adult seals is dark in color and less luxuriant.

The skin tissue of skins covered with primary hair is thin, loose and fragile.

Secondary hair is close in quality to the fur of an adult animal.

Due to the fact that the quality of the skins of young fur-bearing animals is low, their fishing is prohibited (with the exception of fishing for pests - wolves, jackals, gophers).

Age variability is expressed differently in most farm and domestic animals, in which the skins of their young produce the most valuable fur product (astrakhan fur, smushka, foal, goat, opoek). But even for this group of animals there are exceptions: the skins of rabbits, cats, and dogs with primary hair are of little value.

Sexual variability. The hair and skin of males and females of fur-bearing animals has some differences. These differences are relatively subtle and are expressed in the size of the skins, the length and thickness of the hair, as well as the thickness of the leather tissue.

The skins of male fur-bearing animals, except beavers, are larger than the skins of females.

Males, with rare exceptions, have more luxuriant and coarser hair (black polecat, weasel weasel, bear). In some animal species, males, unlike females, have a mane ( seals, rams).

The skin tissue of the skins of males is thicker than that of females. Individual variability.

In a batch of skins of the same type, age and sex, obtained in the same area and at the same time of year, it is often difficult to find two completely identical skins in color, height, thickness and softness of the hair. This is explained by the individual (personal) variability of animals, independent of gender, age, season and habitat.

Individual variability in the hair of fur-bearing animals, agricultural and domestic animals is a serious factor that complicates the sorting of fur raw materials and semi-finished products, as it requires an individual assessment of the quality of each skin.

In different types of fur-bearing animals, individual variability is expressed differently. For example, in otter skins it is weakly expressed, but in sable skins, on the contrary, it is very strong.

A batch of sable skins, received from one region and one variety, can be so diverse that it has to be divided into groups according to color, fluffiness, softness and other characteristics of the hair.

In agricultural and domestic animals, individual variability in hair coat is no less pronounced than in wild fur-bearing animals.

For example, in the skins of Karakul lambs, individual differences in the nature, structure and size of hair curls are so great that when sorting the skins, they are divided into dozens of varieties various quality and values. In domestic animals, even belonging to the same breed, individual variability in hair color is observed. An example is the same astrakhan skins, which come in black, gray, brown and other colors.

Do you know what lemmings are? The name seems familiar, but few people know what kind of animal it is. In today's article we will tell you where lemmings live. So - the lemming is this amazing animal.

Who are lemmings

Lemmings – small rodents hamster family. There are about 20 species of them on earth. Outwardly, they are all very similar to each other. The body of lemmings is dense, 15 cm long, the tail is short, only 2 cm. The color of the fur is yellow-brown, dark on the back, can be gray-brown or variegated.

Small ears are hidden in the fur, and the paws are very short. By winter, the hoofed lemming develops claws on its front paws. With them, like hooves, he shovels snow in winter in search of food.

Where do lemmings live

The habitat of these animals is the tundra and forest-tundra zone. Except North America, Eurasia they can be seen on the islands of the Arctic Ocean.

Lemmings live in burrows that they dig themselves. The burrows are a large number of winding passages. They often create a unique microrelief of the tundra and influence vegetation.

In winter they can build nests directly under the snow.

And in the warm season they make a nest in a hole.

Why do lemmings breed frequently?

Males do not live in the nest; they constantly move in search of food. Females become mature at the age of 2 months and are so fertile that they bear litters 6 times a year. 5–6 cubs are born.

Such fertility helps the animals maintain their numbers quite large. The fact is that their role in the lives of many inhabitants of the tundra is great. Lemmings are cabbage soup for them. There are periods when the animals multiply in unusual numbers - they cover the surface of the tundra like a fluffy carpet. And then all four-legged and feathered predators eat only them. Most often they are hunted by weasels, stoats, foxes, and even.

Thanks to this, animals give birth to more cubs, and birds lay many eggs.

Polar owls and arctic foxes do not begin breeding at all when there are few lemmings.

Lifestyle and nutrition

Lemmings breed even in winter. To do this, entire settlements of spherical grass nests with a large number of galleries are built right under the snow.

They feed immediately on the soft parts herbaceous plants. They prefer sedge and cotton grass. After wintering, the entire tundra is strewn with the remains of a kind of plant debris from nests and droppings. In the spring, when the snow melts, the tundra looks polluted.

Lemmings eat a lot. With a weight of 70 grams per day, one animal eats plant food 2 times its weight. Over the course of a year, this figure accumulates to 50 kg.

In the warm season they can be seen often. Someone is constantly running briskly between the bumps. The picture of a lemming sitting near a hole looks quite comical.

Sitting on its thick fluffy backside, the animal quickly waves its front legs, as if it wants to scare. At the same time, he squeals loudly and shrilly.

In search of food, animals have to migrate long distances. They move alone, but because of their large quantity They seem to be in a pack.

They can swim across rivers and pass any settlements. And although they swim well, many of them die in the water. And on the ground - under the wheels of cars.