Arctic Capture

Peter Johnson '50 of Orange, Conn., shown above, arrived back at college this fall with two Greenland Collared Lemmings, believed to be the only specimens of that particular species ever brought out of the Arctic alive. Johnson, who dropped out of college last semester to work at the joint U.S.-Canadian weather station at the northern end of Ellesmere Island, captured the rodents at Alert, Cape Belknap, less than 500 miles from the North Pole.

The lemmings, now on display at the College Museum, have been a big attraction for those who have read about the strange habit the lemmings have of migrating in masses, swarming over any obstacle in their path, and sometimes plunging into the sea. The Greenland Collared Lemming is the only known species of rodent to change to a pure white coat for the winter, and whether the two Dartmouth lemmings will do this in the comparative warmth of Hanover's climate is the interesting question for the museum staff.