Lemmings Don’t Commit Suicide
Just like any other animal on the planet, Lemmings, which are rodents that look similar to mice, want to live. They’re not suicidal, and this popular science myth spread throughout the whole world. It started when producers were filming a Disney nature documentary, White Wilderness. They herded the Lemmings off of cliffs, and the misconstrued idea stuck. According to wildlife biologist Thomas McDonough, “it’s a complete urban legend. I think it blew out of proportion based on a Disney documentary in the ’50s, and that brought it to the mainstream.” The entire scene was staged and filmed at certain camera angles to make it look like they were committing suicide (Graeuk).