# suicidal lemmings

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suicidal-lemmings/52739>\
**Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\
**Created:** [February 1, 2001, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suicidal-lemmings/52739 "2001-02-01T17:40:14Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 15\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![bryanmcc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/eada6e/32.png) [@bryanmcc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bryanmcc)\
**Post date:** [February 1, 2001, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suicidal-lemmings/52739/1 "2001-02-01T17:40:14Z")

</div>

[http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mbugsuicide.html](http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mbugsuicide.html)

according to doug, lemming suicide is nothing but a myth. however, i had always thought that it was real becuase i vaguely remember a movie seen in grade school actually showing footage of lemmings plummeting into the sea. did i hallucinate this documentary? has anyone else seen something similar? is lemming mass-suicide really a myth?

-b

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![blowero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/41988e/32.png) [@blowero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blowero)\
**Post date:** [February 1, 2001, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suicidal-lemmings/52739/2 "2001-02-01T18:29:28Z")

</div>

\<\<As a final note, the stuff about lemmings jumping off cliffs, of course, is a myth.

\<\<–SDSTAFF Doug

That’s it?! You’re just going to casually mention that a common belief is a myth, and give no details whatsoever?

How do you know it’s a myth?

Who is responsible for originating the myth?

At least post a link to a previous article or something. C’mon - even by the relatively low standards of most internet research, that’s pretty bad. As for the film showing the lemmings going over the cliff, I remember reading something about an evil film director who actually caused the lemmings to do that just so he could film it. But I don’t remember where I read it. I’m sure somebody else will have info on this.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![bryanmcc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/eada6e/32.png) [@bryanmcc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bryanmcc)\
**Post date:** [February 1, 2001, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suicidal-lemmings/52739/3 "2001-02-01T18:54:25Z")

</div>

> [@](#):
>
> As for the film showing the lemmings going over the cliff, I remember reading something about an evil film director who actually caused the lemmings to do that just so he could film it.

ouch, that IS evil!

-b

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Karen\_Too](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ce7236/32.png) [@Karen\_Too](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Karen_Too)\
**Post date:** [February 1, 2001, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suicidal-lemmings/52739/4 "2001-02-01T19:57:47Z")

</div>

Try Snopes:

[http://www.snopes.com/disney/films/lemmings.htm](http://www.snopes.com/disney/films/lemmings.htm)

The documentary in question was by Disney!

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Doug\_Yanega](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5e925/32.png) [@Doug\_Yanega](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_Yanega)\
**Post date:** [February 1, 2001, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suicidal-lemmings/52739/5 "2001-02-01T20:06:23Z")

</div>

Well, SORRY!

He asked if any animals committed suicide, and they don’t. The lemmings stuff is old news, and I didn’t figure it needed specific debunking if the question wasn’t specifically about lemmings. Lemmings occasionally have population explosions and migrations, and people have observed occasions where they had gotten crowded into a spot where some of them were falling off cliffs into the water by getting pushed by the ones behind. That’s not suicide - it’s like saying that soccer fans who die from trampling when there’s a panic in the stadium are committing suicide.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![bryanmcc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/eada6e/32.png) [@bryanmcc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bryanmcc)\
**Post date:** [February 1, 2001, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suicidal-lemmings/52739/6 "2001-02-01T20:13:03Z")

</div>

YES! that was the movie! wow, those people at snopes know everything. too bad i didn’t think of checking there first.

just what i needed: another reason to dislike disney…

-b

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\
**Post date:** [February 1, 2001, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suicidal-lemmings/52739/7 "2001-02-01T20:27:28Z")

</div>

Regarding lemmings as an Urban Legend, see Snopes:

[http://www.snopes2.com/disney/films/lemmings.htm](http://www.snopes2.com/disney/films/lemmings.htm)

> [@](#):
>
> Lemming suicide is fiction. Contrary to popular belief, lemmings do not periodically hurl themselves off of cliffs and into the sea.
> 
> [snip]
> 
> Disney’s _White Wilderness_ was filmed in Alberta, Canada, which is not a native habitat for lemmings and has no outlet to the sea. Lemmings were imported from Manitoba for use in the film, purchased from Inuit children by the filmmakers. The Arctic rodents were placed on a snow-covered turntable and filmed from various angles to produce a “migration” sequence; afterwards, the helpless creatures were transported to a cliff overlooking a river and herded into the water. _White Wilderness_ does not depict an actual lemming migration – at no time are more than a few dozen lemmings ever shown on the screen at once. The entire sequence was faked using a handful of lemmings deceptively photographed to create the illusion of a large herd of migrating creatures.

SDSTAFF Doug may have thought this was covered here before. I did a column search and didn’t turn up any hits, but a search in GQ on “lemmings” turns up 18 or so threads, a few examples below:  
[Do Any Animals Commit Suicide?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=13589)  
[Bad habits in the Wild Kingdom](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=24949)  
[Misinformation from Educational TV shows](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=3513)

Hint: anytime you get a reference to a myth or urban legend, check Snopes first.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\
**Post date:** [February 1, 2001, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suicidal-lemmings/52739/8 "2001-02-01T20:36:03Z")

</div>

Irish: \<\< Hint: anytime you get a reference to a myth or urban legend, check Snopes first. \>\>

… Unless you’re looking about Mr Ed. In that case, forget snopes, and THINK, people, THINK.

Snopes does run jokes from time to time. This joke, I wish they’d revoke. Cecil’s mail includes at least one or two letters a week about Mr. Ed being a hippopotamus or whatever.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Gunslinger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4491bb/32.png) [@Gunslinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gunslinger)\
**Post date:** [February 1, 2001, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suicidal-lemmings/52739/9 "2001-02-01T21:55:08Z")

</div>

Yep, it’s fake. Uncle Walt _pushed_ the little furballs off the cliff.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![blowero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/41988e/32.png) [@blowero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blowero)\
**Post date:** [February 1, 2001, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suicidal-lemmings/52739/10 "2001-02-01T22:41:03Z")

</div>

> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Doug Yanega \*  
> \*\*Well, SORRY!
> 
> He asked if any animals committed suicide, and they don’t. The lemmings stuff is old news, and I didn’t figure it needed specific debunking if the question wasn’t specifically about lemmings. Lemmings occasionally have population explosions and migrations, and people have observed occasions where they had gotten crowded into a spot where some of them were falling off cliffs into the water by getting pushed by the ones behind. That’s not suicide - it’s like saying that soccer fans who die from trampling when there’s a panic in the stadium are committing suicide. \*\*

O.K., I was being a jerk. Sorry to be so critical - I must have gotten up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. Anyway, thanks to all for the follow-up info. My apologies, Doug. I will go jump off a cliff now.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![vanilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f19dbf/32.png) [@vanilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vanilla)\
**Post date:** [February 2, 2001, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suicidal-lemmings/52739/11 "2001-02-02T14:50:05Z")

</div>

I read that in Bigger Secrets by William Poundstone.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\
**Post date:** [February 2, 2001, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suicidal-lemmings/52739/12 "2001-02-02T16:42:22Z")

</div>

Damn simulposts! I started that response before Karen posted. Darn it. 😉

CK, you are right that Snopes does have a few joke pages. There is a disclaimer at the bottom that says “this is a joke” or some variation. Unfortunately sometimes the variation is a little murky.

> **[WebMD - Better information. Better health.](https://www.webmd.com/)**
>
> The leading source for trustworthy and timely health and medical news and information. Providing credible health information, supportive community, and educational services by blending award-winning expertise in content, community services, expert...

The warning on this page is “Warning: Listen to Mr. Ed.” I presume there’s a sound file, but my computer doesn’t have the setup to run sound. Therefore, it is really hard to tell this is actually a joke and not real.

This is one of the “Lost Legend” files, all of which are jokes by Snopes.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![onigame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9fc29f/32.png) [@onigame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/onigame)\
**Post date:** [February 2, 2001, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suicidal-lemmings/52739/13 "2001-02-02T17:04:58Z")

</div>

There’s no sound file on that page. “Listen to Mr. Ed”  
just refers to the theme song – “A horse is a horse,  
of course.”

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Friday](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dec6dc/32.png) [@Friday](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Friday)\
**Post date:** [February 2, 2001, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suicidal-lemmings/52739/14 "2001-02-02T18:11:01Z")

</div>

I get a sound bite when I go to that page. Mr. Ed sez:

“Maybe I didn’t go to college, but I’m not stupid”

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Janx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Janx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Janx)\
**Post date:** [February 5, 2001, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suicidal-lemmings/52739/15 "2001-02-05T11:56:02Z")

</div>

> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by bryanmcc \*  
> \*\*[http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mbugsuicide.html](http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mbugsuicide.html)
> 
> according to doug, lemming suicide is nothing but a myth. however, i had always thought that it was real becuase i vaguely remember a movie seen in grade school actually showing footage of lemmings plummeting into the sea. did i hallucinate this documentary? has anyone else seen something similar? is lemming mass-suicide really a myth?
> 
> -b \*\*

YEP! I saw this, its a Disney film I saw lots of times  
in grade school - I posted a q about else where…  
almost the same as yours  
look under the post

“Does any animal besides  
humans commit suicide?”

My question is there, and Im thinking I was NOT hallucinating, but ya never know!