Lemming

Lemmings are small, short-tailed rodents in the subfamily Arvicolinae, encompassing several species such as Lemmus and Dicrostonyx. They live in circumpolar regions of North America, Europe, and Asia, primarily on the tundra and subarctic taiga, with some species inhabiting alpine areas. Lemmings have compact bodies, dense fur, and short limbs suited to burrowing and moving through snow.

They are herbivores, feeding on grasses, sedges, mosses, lichens, and other vegetation. In winter they often rely on vegetation stored in the ground or beneath the snow. Lemmings use shallow burrows and surface runways, and their populations strongly influence the local predator communities.

Reproduction is rapid when conditions are favorable. Lemmings can have multiple litters per year, with litter sizes commonly ranging from several offspring per birth. The species exhibit dramatic population cycles, with numbers rising and falling over several years. During peak periods, they may migrate in large groups to find new feeding grounds, but such movements are driven by food availability and local conditions rather than any planned mass dispersal.

The idea that lemmings consciously commit mass suicide during migrations is a longstanding myth. The notion was popularized by sensational reporting and staged film footage; extensive field observations show that migrations, while sometimes resulting in die-offs from exhaustion, show no evidence of intentional self-destruction.

Conservation status varies by species, but lemmings as a group are not globally endangered. They are important prey for many Arctic predators, and their population dynamics can have cascading ecological effects in their habitats.