Malte Andersson, of the University of Göteborg in Sweden, wanted to find out if the creature's audacious coloring and tendency to shriek under pressure served a purpose.
In field observations, Andersson found that Norwegian lemmings were overwhelmingly more likely than brown lemmings to issue a "be-gone!" warning call when a potential predator, such as a human, approached them.
Their coloring, meanwhile, was built to stand out. Observers in field tests found L. lemmus easier to pick out in their natural surroundings than the other most common rodent in the area, the grey-sided vole.
Taken together, the coloring and behavior were thought by Andersson to be an instance of aposematism -- using coloration and other tactics as a warning to a potential predator that, in this case, some rodents are more trouble to mess with than they're worth.
Aposematism is more commonly seen in creatures such as frogs, snakes, and insects than in herbivorous mammals, making the little lemming stand out in a crowd yet again.
Black and white, or yellow, is a typical warning color combination, and some birds know to steer clear of it, Andersson explained. The color and the calls tell a predator to think twice.
"The Norwegian lemming combines acoustics with visual conspicuousness, probably to reduce its risk of becoming prey," said Andersson in a statement.
Andersson's findings appear in the journal Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology.