Lemmings fuel biggest snowy-owl migration in 50 years

For the lowly Arctic lemming, life is cruel. In a flash before death, often the last things a lemming sees are the deadly talons of a majestic snowy owl. A mass sacrifice of this rodent with stubby legs probably gave rise to what scientists are calling the largest snowy-owl irruption in at least half a century. The gleaming white birds poured out of Canada this winter to points throughout the eastern US, captivating birdwatchers, scientists and people who had never seen them up close.

Their flights, covering thousands of kilometres, were fuelled by a steady diet of lemmings. The lemming population spikes about every four years in the Arctic, and last summer it rose off the charts on Canada's Bylot Island in the Nunavut territory.

Lees meer: theGuardian