Chapter III: Part 3

The large, plump, and richly-colored brown lemming (_Lemmus trimucronatus alascensis_) is notorious for his overpopulation problem. On some occasions they migrate in hordes, even into the ocean in some parts of their circumpolar home. The lemming is cyclic in the park, but usually only to about the same degree as the other mice. However, in the low part of the cycle, they may become extremely scarce, more so than do the voles. The brown lemming does not turn white in winter as does its relative, the collared lemming (over most of its range). The body is about 5½ inches long and the tail is just under 1 inch. The thumb claw consists of a three-pronged flat nail. A large lemming weighs about one-quarter pound. They are widely distributed in both open tundra and woods where the habitat is not too dry.

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The northern bog lemming (_Synaptomys borealis dalli_) is usually not thought of as a true lemming, but it does belong to the lemming tribe. It has a short tail, less than 1 inch long; the body length is about 4 inches; the upper incisors have a vertical groove near the outer edge; and the males have a white spot on each side marking the location of hip glands. The thumb claw is a broad nail, in this respect resembling the brown lemming. The distribution of this mouse is spotty. It was taken in the Wonder Lake area in a wet grass and sedge habitat just inside a spruce woods.

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The chestnut-cheeked vole (_Microtus xanthognathus_), the largest mouse in the park, has a body length of 6 or 7 inches, tail length of about 2 inches, and weighs up to about 6 ounces. These mice live in isolated colonies but where found may be abundant. Not recorded in the park since 1907 when it was abundant along the Toklat River.

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The tundra vole (_Microtus oeconomus macfarlani_) is a large vole widely distributed, and is especially fond of dense grass or sedge habitats. Its body length is 5 to 5½ inches, and tail length a little less than 2 inches. Its brownish-gray color is similar to the common meadow mouse.

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The meadow vole (_Microtus pennsylvanicus tananaensis_) is common in interior Alaska, so far as known, but is rare in the park. With more investigation, it may be found plentiful in places along the north boundary. This is a common vole over much of Canada and the Rocky Mountain, central and eastern states. It prefers moist habitats. The body length is about 5 inches, tail about 2 inches, and the color is dark brown.

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The northern red-backed mouse (_Clethrionomys rutilus dawsonii_) lives in both the open tundra and the woods. Generally, it has a reddish back, but in a dark color phase, the back is blackish. These mice are fond of berries, their teeth being stained blue during the blueberry season. They also feed on seeds, stems, and leaves.

The several species of mice vary in abundance from year to year. In places where some of them have been studied, a well-defined 3 or 4 year cycle has been noted. The mouse populations have a tremendous influence on our wildlife economy. Foxes, martens, weasels, owls, hawks and a host of others feed extensively on this fauna and react to its abundance. When the lemming increase in the north, the snowy owls (and others) increase, and when the lemming become scarce, these owls come south in search of food and we have the snowy owl invasions, especially in north-central and eastern states. In 1955, when mice were abundant, the hawk owls in the park reached a high point, but again became scarce when the mouse population dropped.

Checklist of The Mammals of Mount McKinley National Park

[_] Arctic Shrew
[_] Masked Shrew
[_] Dusky Shrew
[_] Pygmy Shrew
[_] Bat (Species unknown)
[_] Black Bear
[_] Grizzly Bear
[_] Marten
[_] Short-tailed Weasel
[_] Least Weasel
[_] Mink
[_] Wolverine
[_] River Otter
[_] Red Fox
[_] Coyote
[_] Wolf
[_] Lynx
[_] Hoary Marmot
[_] Arctic Ground Squirrel
[_] Red Squirrel
[_] Northern Flying Squirrel
[_] Beaver
[_] Bog Lemming
[_] Brown Lemming
[_] Northern Red-backed Mouse
[_] Meadow Vole
[_] Singing Vole
[_] Tundra Vole
[_] Chestnut-cheeked Vole
[_] Muskrat
[_] Porcupine
[_] Collared Pika
[_] Snowshoe Rabbit
[_] Moose
[_] Caribou
[_] Mountain goat
[_] Dall Sheep

Transcriber’s Notes

—Silently corrected a few typos.

—Retained publication information from the printed edition: this eBook
is public-domain in the country of publication.

—In the text versions only, text in italics is delimited by
_underscores_.