The terrestrial mammals and birds of North-East Greenland. 37 



Hvalrosodden which was inhabited in the said period by thousands 

 of lemmings. The territory w^as here on long stretches of way quite 

 undermined by their passages and sown with their holes. The 

 feathered enemies of the lemming, the snowy owl, the falcon, the 

 arctic gull and the raven had their resort in great numbers to this 

 territory during the autumn, and were living sumptuously on the 

 abundance of the prey so welcome to them. 



In the same autumn I also met with great numbers of lemmings 

 in other localities rich in vegetation, as for instance on Koldewey 

 Islands, the territory of Stormkap, on Snenæs and in the tract near 

 the ship's harbour. 



From the sledge travellers of the expedition I have received the 

 following, rather scant notes: 



Lamberts Land lat. 79° 8' n. ^^/4 07. Fresh traces of lemmings 

 on the snow. Koch. 



Lat. 83° 10' n. ^^/o 07. In several places here and a little further 

 to the south traces of lemmings on the snov. Koch & Bertelsen. 



Lat. 82° 30' n. 2^/5 07. Observed even to-day fresh traces of 

 lemmings on the snow. Koch & Bertelsen. 



On their journey home the travellers again visited Lamberts 

 Land — June 13'^ and 14'^ — where Bertelsen now met with traces 

 of lernmings in several places. 



At the head of Sælsøen, near the border of the inland ice, 

 Lindhard observed April 7'^ 19O8 some traces of lemmings. Wegener 

 and Weinschenck state to have seen a great many traces of lem- 

 mings in Dronning Louises Land, 40 kilometers out on the inland ice. 



Within the precincts wiiich I personally had the opportunity 

 of examining continually, the winter 1906 — 07 — as elsewhere men- 

 tioned — involved a strikingly great reduction of the amount of 

 lemmings. According to my opinion the cause must be sought in 

 the extremely low temperature of the first winter months, combined 

 with a very insignificant snow-fall accompanied by violent storms 

 which perfectly bared large areas of snow. (Vid. my common des- 

 cription of the nature of the country. As to the disturbing influence 

 involved by the summer 1907 in relation to those kinds of mam- 

 mals and birds, to which the lemming in these regions is as it 

 were a condition of life, I can refer to the articles about the species 

 concerned.) 



When in the description of the Greenland lemming it has been 

 asserted that the animal will stroll about in the open air all the year 

 round (Vid : Winge's "Grønlands Pattedyr" under Myodes torqvatus 



