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Lemming lunch

Alarmed lemmings run for safety from the predators that hunt them - Arctic fox, long-tailed skua and snowy owl. These predators will even regulate their breeding to match the available number of lemmings. The courtship ceremony of long-tailed skuas and snowy owls includes the males' habit of showing off how many lemmings he can catch for his mate, and if numbers are good then more eggs will be laid. A skua lands with a live lemming in its beak, to offer to its mate. It drops the lemming which tries to escape and to attack the skua, but it gets grabbed again. The lemming escapes a second time and both skuas chase and peck at it. The male catches it once again. A snowy owl is mobbed by a skua and driven back to her nest. There are eggs and young chicks in the owl nest. The male owl catches a lemming and takes it to the nest, where the female feeds the chicks.

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3 minutes

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