The Arctic tundra is inhabited by a small, furry animal whose population periodically explodes and then suddenly decreases when it reaches its limit, and most people have never seen its real body, but this small animal is known for the "suicide puzzle" imposed on them by humans.
They are lemmings.
With the exception of Lemmus amurensis, the Amur lemmings living in the lower reaches of the Heilongjiang River, four other species of lemmings live in the Arctic Circle, among which the Norwegian lemmus lemmus, famous for their "suicide story".
Norwegian lemming between the stone crevices. Image: David Mintz / Wikimedia Commons
<h1 class="pgc-h-center-line" style="text-align: center" > mysterious lemmings that are "blowing in the wind."</h1>
Norwegian lemmings mainly live in the Scandinavian mountains that run through Norway and other countries, which stretch for more than a thousand kilometers, traverse the Arctic Circle, and the northernmost area exceeds 70° north latitude. Many parts of the Scandinavian mountains have long and harsh winters, but this small rodent managed to overcome it. Under the silent snow, Norwegian lemmings have carved out intricate mazes that have been lurking throughout the winter to avoid the harsh outside world. Lemmings dig mazes while feeding on plants (mainly moss) buried in snow. The labyrinths of lemmings are sometimes connected and connected, forming a network of roads under the snow.
Lemmings burrowing in the snow. Image: kgleditsch / Wikimedia Commons
But excessive socialization can make some Norwegian lemmings socially fearful. These anxious lemmings behave abnormally and become bold and adventurous, drilling out of snow holes and running on the ground in search of a new world. The general rat color is dim and hidden, and when there is wind and grass, it will hide - we often say that it is timid as a rat, but when lemmings encounter predators or humans, they often no longer dodge, and even show aggressive behavior. But after all, it is a small animal that is not the size of a palm, and the menacing threat always looks a little funny, and it is seen by humans, which further misunderstands the "suicide" of lemmings.
In addition to "mass suicide", people have long been full of other forms of misconceptions about lemmings. Some naturalists in the 16th century believed that lemmings were born in stormy skies and then died and disappeared in the spring—perhaps a form of the "spontaneous occurrence of life" that was popular at the time. In 1655, the Danish naturalist Ole Worm dissected the lemming, indicating its relationship with small rodents such as hamsters and voles — the lemming genus is now classified into the hamster family Voles subfamily, but he still believes that the lemmings that appeared in large numbers in a short period of time were brought by high winds rather than being born locally.
<h1 class="pgc-h-center-line" style="text-align: center" > feast for predators</h1>
There is no reason to be confused about the intense attenuation of lemming populations, and while we already know that the cycle of lemming population change is roughly 3 to 4 years, ecologists have yet to establish precise models to predict lemming population changes. When the land where the ice and snow melt suddenly appear a hundred times larger than the usual lemmings, not to mention humans, even the Arctic foxes, red foxes, snow owls, and ravens that usually prey on lemmings are difficult to accept the sudden rich life for a while, and even the long-tailed skua, a seabird such as a long-tailed skua, will deliberately run to the lemming colony to build nests and breed chicks, and use rich lemmings to raise offspring.
Arctic foxes jump up and hunt rodents under the snow. Image: BBC Earth/youtube
Presumably, when lemmings are small, they do not hibernate and are distributed more rats with overwintering food, resulting in crazy growth. When the ice and snow melted, the ice fortress above the lemmings' heads disappeared, the soil under their feet had not yet thawed, and a large number of homeless lemmings gathered, desperate to find a new shelter, but the melting snow had already converged into a dense system of water that blocked them throughout the mountain.
Lemmings have fluffy and gap-rich hairs, enough to support them to swim a short distance, but this dwarf animal does not plan its course with foresight, and its body is not suitable for long-distance swimming, and there are always some unfortunate lemmings who fail to cross rivers and lakes, deepening people's misunderstanding.
The remains of a lemming mouse on the banks of the Revåa River in Norway, which may have been a victim on the migration route. Image: Bjørn Christian Tørrissen / Wikimedia Commons
During this season, tall and burly moose are also crossing the flooded rivers. There were also reindeer rushing to the heights, and the melting snow had exposed the lichen, and by the time they had finished eating the lichen, the new grass had just grown. The place where lemmings are going is also the grasslands of the alpine zone, and by the time they finally arrive on their short legs, the infinitely radiant polar day has been waiting there for a long time.
A short but generous summer will be fulfilling. The lifespan of a Norwegian lemming is comparable to that of a hamster, about two years. But lemmings have a full and active life, and they spend most of their summers grazing, sleeping, and reproducing. Norwegian lemmings don't dig holes in the ground, and the rock crevices are a cozy home, giving birth to a nest of up to 12 hairless mice that can grow up in just two weeks of feeding. In another month, a new litter of mice will be born, and by this time the last batch of born pups will be mature enough to reproduce.
Countless lemmings have produced more lemmings, which will be a year of great material abundance for predators on the grasslands. The population fluctuations of lemmings affect almost every predator in the grasslands, including arctic foxes. Arctic foxes are smaller, with limited prey options and, worse, red foxes that spread north to suppress them. If there is a lemming boom, the endangered Arctic fox in northern Europe will have a little more hope of survival.
Snowy Owl appearing in Washington, D.C. Image: U.S. Department of Agriculture / Wikimedia Commons
The same thing happened to dibrostonyx groenlandicus, the ring-necked lemming rat in North America. Ring-necked lemmings, like Norwegian lemmings, undergo periodic population fluctuations, and the population of newborn snowy owls swells during lemming's good years. In winter, lemmings disappear into the snow and cannot be caught, and the extra snowy owl have to move south. At that time, those densely populated mid-latitudes such as Boston, Philadelphia, and New York will usher in the year when snow owls are easy to see. This once-in-a-few years is praised by North American birdwatchers, and its appearance should be attributed to the flourishing of lemmings in the distant Arctic half a year ago.
<h1 class="pgc-h-center-line" style="text-align: center" > Disney's cunning lies</h1>
Misconceptions about lemmings have existed in Europe since ancient times, and Lemmings in North America were forced to become the protagonists of the first lemming suicide stories. The 1958 documentary White Wilderness, which tells the story of a herd of lemmings jumping off a cliff and falling into the sea, was so popular that it was named the Oscar for Best Documentary that year, and was the epitome of the myth of "lemming suicide". However, skepticism about the film has never stopped, with the Alaskan Fishing and Hunting Department calling it "it's a complete urban legend" (all urban legends) and a dedicated debunking paper published in Science.
According to a 1983 Survey by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Disney bought lemmings and filmed the pseudo-documentary in Alberta, inland Canada, with footage from indoor studios. The famous sea jump scene is a picture of artificially driving them to jump off a cliff and then fall into the river, and then carefully edited to achieve the effect.
Artificially created lemming "suicide by jumping into the sea" footage. Image: The movie "White Wilderness"
The ins and outs of the mystery of lemming's suicide have long been revealed: at first, lemmings are seen in large numbers in the spring — they are blocked by the waters, become dense, and suffer heavy losses when crossing the river. So some people tried to explain it in terms of human behavior, and later documentaries used this to carefully cater to the prejudices of the masses. It's an ancient modern cultural meme, but it's still tenacious. In 1993, an article titled "The Lemming Mystery" was published in Science and Technology Daily, which told the story of the author's hearing about lemming suicide in Barrow, Alaska. The article was later incorporated into a number of language textbooks, making the story subsequently widely circulated in the Chinese world.
A lemming mouse who was forcibly driven into the water for "heroic sacrifice". Image: The movie "White Wilderness"
It's funny that people basically know about lemmings because of this false suicide story. If anyone mentions the mass suicide of lemmings again, you can explicitly say for these innocent hairballs, "I'm not, I'm not." Lemmings do not have the fate of suicide, if there is anything that makes them uneasy, it is only the change of climate. The forest line in the Nordic mountains gradually moved upwards, encroaching on the original meadows and tundra – the living space of the Norwegian lemmings. Today, the peak of the lemming cycle is lower than in previous years, the interval between good years has also been extended, and the "big year" of lemmings has become more and more barren and rare, so that predators such as arctic foxes have gradually declined.
I think of the pika that is active in the grasslands of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, which is also a kind of fluffy small animal, weak but numerous, the largest number of local herbivores, not only supporting the superstructure of the ecosystem, but also responsible for controlling plant growth and soil and water conservation. Meanwhile, in the fragile grasslands of the Arctic, tiny Norwegian lemmings carry an equal amount of responsibility. They work diligently in the extremely daytime grasslands and the cold snow fields of winter, releasing the fixed matter and energy of grass and moss, partly to predators eagerly awaiting food, part to the earth, and part to their own small bodies.
Mongolian pika (Ochotona pallasi). Image: Alastair Rae / Wikimedia Commons
I think lemmings, who diligently do these ecological work, probably know the meaning of life better than the humans who make up stories.
This article is from the species calendar, welcome to forward
If you need to reprint, please contact [email protected]