It is observed that in the mountainous areas of Norway, the lemmings on the mountain spread to the valley, and some of them gradually reached the lake and seaside, where they settled down. But some will try to swim to the other side, and some will drown. This may be the source of the myth of collective suicide of lemmings.
An American article entitled Sandnes and Heroic Sacrifice in the Sea-Towards the Covenant of Death became popular on the Internet, and was transferred from the Reader's issue 15 in 2005. It is said that a Norwegian cancer patient had an epiphany while following lemmings to death: there is no need to be afraid of death, because life and death are both part of life. But judging from the content and writing, it is not like a translated work, but a fake by a domestic writer. It vividly depicts the scene of following and witnessing millions of lemmings commit suicide by jumping into the sea after a long journey for the benefit of species. In fact, it is adapted from a popular science article introducing China's "Lemmings Mystery".
Lemmings are the collective name of about 20 small herbivores living in the Arctic. People have long noticed that their numbers will change periodically, some years are particularly large, and some years are very rare. As a result, various legends have emerged. 16th and17th centuries, many European scholars thought that lemmings "fell from the sky"-lemmings can be spontaneously generated as long as the air conditions are suitable. At that time, Danish naturalist Orr Forme dissected lemmings for the first time to refute this statement, proving that the anatomical structure of lemmings is similar to other rodents.
Lemmings suddenly fell from the sky because of their amazing reproductive ability. Lemmings can reproduce about a month after birth, and a female mouse can give birth to a litter of about 8 mice every 5 weeks. When the conditions are suitable, the number of a lemming population can be increased by 10 times in one year. Every four years or so, the number of lemmings will peak, and then it will drop sharply, so it is difficult to find. Where have all these lemmings gone?
Legend has it that when the number of lemmings reaches its peak, they will spontaneously migrate collectively and commit suicide in the sea, leaving only a few similar people behind to undertake the sacred task of carrying on the family line. In the documentary "White Wilderness" filmed by Disney in 1958, the lemmings migrated in groups and finally committed suicide by jumping into the sea, with very sensational explanations. This Oscar-winning film has far-reaching influence, and the touching legend that makes lemmings go to the death Covenant is well-known in the west.
But the scene of that documentary was faked. The film was shot in Alberta, Canada, where lemmings are not produced. The photography team went to the North Pole to buy dozens of lemmings from Inuit children, let them run on a turntable covered with snow, shoot from all angles, and after editing, thousands of lemmings migrated. Afterwards, the film crew took the lemmings to the edge of the cliff, hoping to film them jumping off the cliff and drowning in the river. Unexpectedly, lemmings didn't want to jump. After waiting for two days, the impatient photography team drove the lemmings off the cliff and committed suicide by jumping into the sea.
Why the number of lemmings changes periodically is an inconclusive biological topic, which may be related to natural enemies, food, climate, seasons and other factors. For example, an obvious but unconfirmed explanation is that the rapid increase in the number of lemmings destroyed the vegetation, resulting in food shortage and a large number of lemmings starved to death. Then the vegetation began to recover and a new cycle appeared. In fact, this phenomenon is not unique to lemmings. Other small animals living in harsh conditions will have similar periodic changes in their populations.
Although there are different views on the answer to this question, experts agree on this point: lemmings will not commit suicide collectively. When the number of lemmings increases sharply and local food becomes scarce, lemmings, like other animals, will spread to other places. It is observed that in the mountainous areas of Norway, the lemmings on the mountain spread to the valley, and some of them will gradually reach the lake and the seaside and settle down there. But with more and more latecomers, some will try to swim to the other side, and some will be drowned. This may be the source of the myth of collective suicide of lemmings.
In recent years, some experts have tried to explain the mystery of the decline in the number of lemmings from their own changes. For example, with the increase of mouse population density, the social interaction and pressure between lemmings increase, which leads to the change of hormone levels in the body, thus reducing its fertility and becoming more aggressive. When the population density is too high, lemmings' reaction is not to sacrifice themselves, but to attack other lemmings and even kill each other.
The myth that lemmings are about to die will not disappear as easily as the myth that lemmings fall from the sky.
No matter how the experts clarify, this myth will always be passed down as a scientific fact and an educational natural wonder. After all, for many people, beautiful lies are better than cold facts.