Sometimes you really just don't want to know....
I knew from my time teaching at the EcoTarium, a natural history museum nearby, that the suicidal lemmings myth was untrue, but I was wondering where the story came from so I decided to look it up.
First of all the truth about lemmings is that they are not in fact suicidal. Every few years they experience extreme population growth, which leaves their food sources depleted and forces a mass migration. During the migration lemmings go their own way and basically search randomly for someplace where food is abundant. They will cross rivers and other small bodies of water, and are able to swim across these just fine. Some lemmings however do attempt to cross larger, deeper water, and will drown, but they do not follow each other to cliffs and commit mass suicide.
I am still unsure where the original myth came from but it was perpetuated and brought into popular culture by a Disney wildlife documentary from the 50's. Apparently, in an attempt to demonstrate this myth (which would be difficult to document in nature, seeing as it doesn't actually happen ), the filmmakers imported lemmings to their shooting location and simulated the suicide by luring the lemmings over a cliff. Perpetuating a false myth and offing some helpless rodents, all in a days work :(. Go, Disney!
To be fair, there was no evidence the Disney knew about what the filmmakers were doing (not that I am under the illusion, they would have protested), and staging wildlife segments was apparently a popular practice at the time. It still is to some extent, nature being unpredictable and all.
Why you ask, is she babbling about lemmings? I was making a few, non fandom icons, and I made this:
Proof of my insanity :D. I was just curious so I decided to see what I could find out.
Here are a few others, which sadly have no stories to go with them. I know you are disappointed ;).
All are free for the taking :).