I'm not sure the lemming myth even qualifies as an urban myth as the media references noted here to Disney etc date back to the 1950's, 60 years ago, so unless the denier game is being played of quoting long disproved theories (not that Disney was a theory) like the one here from Zeigler (~1530) then it has been the case that science knew Lemmings did not do this for many decades.
Many sources have dispelled this myth over the years, a section of one of the Life on Earth series mentioned it and that it was a myth and that is now many years ago.
You still see some references in media like Apple Ad's etc but frankly if people are getting their science from that then they need to go back to school.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lemming#Beh...
No. Most animals have a natural instinct not to kill themselves!
Where this idea really comes from is the observation that some rodents seem to have no fear of heights. Some mice will quite happily walk over the edges of tables or leap from wheat or other crops. This is because these small animals have a large surface area relative to their volume, and that means that air resistance is increased. Put simply, they can happily survive falls that, if proportionately scaled up to human sizes, would leave us a messy puddle on the ground.
So, lemmings like other small animals can survive falls that seem rather large to us. Lemmings, like other small animals, learn this and quite happily jump or fall from relatively large heights because instinctively they know they'll survive. I suspect that the idea that lemmings throw themselves off cliffs, even if it was generated by Disney, harps back to this old observation.
No they don't.
The famous film of them doing that was set up by the makers. They drove the lemmings off the cliff because that is how they were supposed to behave.
No they don't. I think the "myth' came from the fact that their population sometimes explodes and then they need to migrate to places with more food. The population of many northern animals such as Snowy Owls and Arctic Foxes fluctuate partially as the result of lemming population. Unfortunately for them, the lemming population isn't very steady.
The Theory is that rats will jump off a sinking ship , lemmings in fear will jump off a cliff , it's just like people who are afraid to ask for help , commit suicide , it's all a fear of impending doom , believe it or not , it's up to you
No, that's a myth created by Disney. They tried to make a film about Lemmings but it was so bloody boring, to make it interesting they thew them aroud. In one scene of the film you see a lemming sailing through the air backwards
Yes they do.
There is no definite reason. It is just like the greenies on this site. They defend AGW and ACC. Why? Who knows. They are aiding in their own destruction.
Quote from the UN's Own "Agenda 21": "Effective execution of Agenda 21 will require a profound reorientation of all human society, unlike anything the world has ever experienced a major shift in the priorities of both governments and individuals and an unprecedented redeployment of human and financial resources. This shift will demand that a concern for the environmental consequences of every human action be integrated into individual and collective decision-making at every level."
The greenies will only see this after it is too late.
yes, they do. lemming are always sad. they think they have no meaning in life, when they take the last deep breath and look over the cliff they are about to jump off,k they think of everything they have done wrong, then when they are falling, they always change there minds, so they scream for help as they fall. they cry ajd cry until *SPLAT*
yes
And if so why do they do it?
