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The narrator claims the lemmings do this because they mistake the ocean for a lake and are just trying to make it to the other side. What’s interesting is that the producers felt the need to pretend like they were “clearing up a myth,” when in fact they were about to perpetrate their own little hoax on the audience!īecause what happens next is that the lemmings are seen purportedly jumping in a mass “frenzy” over giant cliffs and into the Arctic sea, where they swim out into the water and eventually drown en masse. And, as often happens in man’s nature lore, it’s a story both true and false as we shall see in a moment. The story is one of the persistent tales of the arctic. Here’s an actual living legend: for it’s said of this tiny animal that it commits mass suicide by rushing into the sea in droves. The scene starts off with the narrator relaying the lemming suicide myth to the audience, saying:
#LEMMINGS JUMPING OFF CLIFFS MYTH DISNEY FULL#
Here’s the full scene in all its grainy vintage glory: Now Disney didn’t create the myth that lemmings jump off cliffs to commit mass suicide - there are references to the concept dating as far back as this 1918 National Geographic Magazine - but Disney is widely credited with popularizing the idea with its 1958 nature documentary White Wilderness.
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How Disney Faked Mass Lemming Suicide in a Nature Documentary These unusual fluctuations apparently create mass migration effects and may have something to do with the bizarre urban legend of mass lemming suicide, which was given a boost by none other than the Walt Disney Company. In fact, certain species of lemmings are known to experience significant population booms every few years before their numbers suddenly dwindle to close to nothing. Lemmings live underground during the harsh winters, but come above ground during the warmer months – when they can get busy with each other fast. I mean just look at this little guy: Oh my god, so cute! They look something like a gerbil or hamster.Īnd they are cute AF. The story is a bizarre one, as is its lasting cultural impact, so let’s dive right into this peculiar chapter in documentary history.Ī lemming is a small rodent native to the arctic tundra. I’m referring to that time in 1958 when the Walt Disney Company staged a mass lemming suicide in an Academy Award-nominated documentary film. It means, basically, “don’t just go where others are going.”īut did you know it’s a total fabrication resulting from a fake documentary?
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A slice.Ever heard the phrase “don’t be a lemming”? * bonus: that's what a group of lemmings is called. "Well sure, we saw hundreds one day and then none! Old Thom saw a slice* running right into the river." You might imagine a fisherman or two seeing that, and suddenly "lemmings are suicidal". And those that try often die in the process. That might have something to do with their gung-ho attitude to go ahead and cross that body of water.īut they're not very good swimmers. They aren't afraid of things, they will even attack humans. Lemmings are unique among rodents also for their aggression. And sometimes that might be in the direction of a small lake or light river. Prevalent theory is something in their predator array shares a similar pattern, likely the stote (a kind of weasel).Īs with other rodents, when the bloom occurs, they disperse shortly after in pretty much any available direction. This happens about every four years, but no one knows exactly why. Think of every lemming just making babies all it can, all at once. They experience population blooms like most rodents, but to a sharper extent.
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Their population cycles are extremely erratic, sometimes dropping to near extinction level.