Animal Behavior at UNE - Searching for Northern Bog Lemmings

UNE Animal Behavior students Maya Galpern '25 and Grace Hutjens '26 joined Associate Professor of Animal Behavior Zach Olson, Ph.D., in the search for Northern Bog Lemmings, one of the most elusive creatures in Maine.

Traditional methods of tracking wildlife, such as trapping and surveying, have been ineffective in determining the location and number of northern bog lemmings across the northern United States, but Olson's recent research has flipped the script in identifying this threatened animal.

Recent research conducted by Olson determined that genetic testing is an effective method for discovering the animals' locations in different parts of Maine. The method involved collecting fecal pellets of small mammals, extracting DNA, and identifying whether northern bog lemming DNA was present in the sample.