Voles, Mice and Lemmings

House Mouse--This image is Public Domain

House Mouse

SOURCE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Mausprofil.jpgThis photo is also public domain

  Vole (although often called a Field Mouse, it is not a mouse)--http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bank_vole.jpg

Lemming--http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Tunturisopuli_Lemmus_Lemmus.jpg

Many of you may have read the book Never Cry Wolf by Farley Mowat or perhaps you have seen the movie. The book is about a scientist who spends a year on the Mackenzie Delta (the home range of the worlds largest caribou herd); in an attempt to prove that wolves are not the wanton killers of caribou and are not responsible for decimating the herd as has been commonly claimed.

           In his attempt to do this he examines the scats of many wolves. Most of these scats contain no caribou remains whatever but do contain voles, mice and lemmings. He also shows that caribou being a migratory animal are often not to be found in the region, by wolf or man. In order to further substantiate his theories about wolves and their diet he lives for the entire year on a diet of mice and lemmings, which he eats whole.

            Both the book and the movie are excellent and can do much to change the thinking of the uninitiated or mis-informed. Unfortunately what both the book and the movie fail to mention is that the real indigenous peoples of the barrens often were forced to subsist on exactly the same diet. ©