After looking at such a vicious and deadly animal yesterday. What? You don’t remember what we looked at to start the week. Remember, the Giant Asian Hornet, biggest hornet in the world! Glad I was able to refresh your poor memory. Anyway, I thought we could use a cuddly animal today and after a long list of animals presented to me by my loving parents (most of them had already been completed) I decided to settle with the Lemming. You know those cute little mouse-like creatures that live in the north and apparently commit mass suicide. Obviously, we will talk about this peculiar habit so keep reading.
As mentioned Lemmings are small rodents that are typically found inhabiting the tundra landscape by the Arctic Circle. Lemmings vary in size with the smallest being around 8 cm (3″) and the largest species being around 24 cm (9.4″). You might think that the best part of living in the Arctic would be that you get to sleep all winter. Well, the Lemming is apparently braver than I am and as a result toughs out the harsh winters. Personally, I would take an 8 month nap. Luckily the Lemming is able to stay warm since they have a nice thick coat of fur and spend most of their time under the snow. I bet they have a pretty cool snow fort!
I am guessing that if you have heard about the Lemming then you have heard how large herds of these creatures jump off cliffs. If you have indeed heard this then you may be shocked to learn that this is one big myth. The theory was that older Lemmings would jump off cliffs to ensure that there was enough food and resources for the younger generation of Lemmings. Although this interesting theory is not true the Lemming population does fluctuate quite a bit with lack of food being one of the reasons. When I say their population fluctuates, I don’t just mean there are a few less individuals one year. When the Lemming population cycle hits its low point, they are pretty much bordering on the side of extinction. A few years later, in a “Lemming Year” these little creatures can be found everywhere. It is absolutely amazing how they can go from such a small population to being overpopulated in a few years. Can anyone think why this odd population strategy might actually be beneficial to the Lemming species as a whole? I will post the answer in the comment section in a couple of days.
Well that does it for the little Lemming of the North. I hope you enjoyed today’s fact! See you tomorrow.
What a tease! I will be certain to watch for the strategical population fluctuation. Back to mass suicide; I seem to remember a movie that actually showed lemmings stampeding to a cliff and going right over. It was of course many years ago so I’m not sure of the name of the movie. It might have been Ecco or Ecco-Ecco or maybe even something else.
hahaha! All of that teasing and the answer really isn’t that exciting.
Drum Roll, Please!
Well, the strategy of having pretty much the entire population diminish ensures that only the strongest of the species survives. Let’s face it, the little Lemming that is so weak they need to stay in a bubble their whole lives are not going to make it through a harsh winter without any food.
With the strongest Lemmings living to pass their genes on to the next generation it ensures that the species as a whole continues to get stronger and stronger as time goes on. Maybe one day, they will be strong enough to take over the top of the food chain.
Pretty risky strategy if you ask me but apparently it is working since the Lemming is still hanging out around the Arctic Circle.
Thanks for coming back to check out the answer to this weeks riddle.
Nathan