Adam Rodney ? Lemmings-
This paper explores the truth and fiction surrounding one of the natural kingdom?s strangest citizens; the lemming. The subject of countless studies, stories and legend, this paper will attempt to separate fact from fiction, truth from legend, and give an in depth view of lemmings in general and in particular the Norwegian lemming.
First off, what is a lemming? To those who are not naturalist, field biologist, or zoologist, the animal seems indistinguishable from the pet store guinea pig, a chubby hamster, a small tailless nutria or some other common southern rodent.
?It’s a plump little rodent that looks like a mouse. But it’s not. It’s more closely related to voles and muskrats. It has thick fur, short legs, tiny ears, a stubby tail and black button eyes. It’s four to five inches long and grayish brown or reddish brown.? (Phil Myers, associate professor of zoology and associate curator of mammals, Email, University of Michigan)
?Some lemmings like the Collared lemming Dicrostonyx, have a rather obscure grayish brown coat, but other species are more colorful. The Norway lemming, for example is boldly pattered with a black head and a large black patch on the back on a yellowish-brown background, while the smaller Wood lemming is slate gray with a streak of rust- red on the back.? (Macdonald, D. W. 1984. The encyclopedia of mammals. Facts on File Inc. New York. Pp. 650-657. )
?All lemmings have strong claws by which they dig tunnels amongst the roots of the tundra heaths and grasses. Lemmings have very angular skulls to accommodate especially powerful muscles of mastication and like their relatives the voles, their teeth keep growing keep growing throughout life to compensate for the heavy wear resulting from the staple diet of tough vegetation.?
?Lemmings can be found through out the arctic tundra, although a few species extend south in to the coniferous forest zone in both America and Eurasia.? (Macdonald, D. W. 1984. The encyclopedia of mammals. Facts on File Inc. New York. Pp. 650-657. )
According to the Canadian wildlife service 11 different species of lemming are found throughout North America, North Asia and Northern Europe. Of the eleven species the Norwegian lemming is clearly the best known for its striking natural behavior.
The misunderstanding of its odd migratory behavior has given the Norwegian Lemming a false reputation for being an angry, suicidal creature who shows no respect for its own life. This is a rodent linked in our minds with mass suicides and one of the main aims here is to put the Norwegian lemming?s story into perspective.
The Norwegian lemming can be found in ranges across Sweden, Finland, Scandinavia, and northwest Russia.
?The Norwegian lemming lives at 2,500-3,000 ft above sea level. In the summer the Norway lemming will occupy moist stony ground partly covered by sedges, willow shrubs and dwarf birch.?(Dr. Maurice Burton: Lemmings. Wildlife Encyclopedia, volume (10): 1301-1302)
Besides the strange migrations the norwiegen lemming possesses a number of unique adaptations to survive in the harsh atmosphere of the Arctic Circle.
? Most mammals have to increase heat production to maintain their body heat when temperatures fall below freezing but the Norwegian lemmings do not do so until the temperature reaches ?12C?. (Robin Dunbar: Mammals. Remarkable Animals, Volume (1): p40)
During the endless winter months lemmings must physically change in order to survive.
? To reduce heat loss as much as possible, the Norwegian lemming grows a long winter coat that traps a layer of air in the under fur.? (The Biology of Lemmings, edited by N.C. Stenseth and R.A. Ims, Academic Press, London, 1993)
?It also develops two paculiar, enlarged, forked claws on the front feet, well adapted for digging in frozen snow.? (Macdonald, D. W. 1984. The encyclopedia of mammals. Facts on File Inc. New York. Pp. 650-657. )
They use these claws to build homes under the snow in the winter.
?In winter they usually live under snow, protected from cold and from enemies, building rounded nests of grass that keep the moisture out of the dens. They make extensive tunnels under the snow.? (Marsden, W. 1964. The lemming year. Chatto and Windus. London, U.K.)
Like all lemmings the Norwegian lemming is a herbivore. It survives off the small plants that grow in the Arctic.
“Because their food is lichens, mosses, and grasses the brutal wintry conditions do not interrupt their feeding and therefore continue to breed.? (Dr. Maurice Burton: Lemmings. Wildlife Encyclopedia, volume (10): 1301-1302)
Because of that yearly supply of food the lemming has almost unlimited breeding capabilities.
?Breeding can occur at all seasons, lemmings sometimes breed in the winter, but there is always a pause in spring and fall separating summer and winter breeding. How such a small mammal, already under a severe thermal stress, can muster enough energy to breed in an arctic winter, and what factors determine when winter breeding will occur, are still mysteries.? (Elton, C. 1942. Voles, mice and lemmings. Oxford. London. )
The lemming is one of the fastest breeders in the animal kingdom.
During the practically year round breeding season, family after family is born into the lemming colony.
?Each mother lemming has several litters. There may be three babies in a litter or four, or five, or even eleven. Just a few weeks later these young lemmings start having babies of their own.? (Smithsonian Institute. Internet WWW- page, URL: mnh.si.edu/arctic/html/lemming.html)
Even though lemmings can reproduce trough out the year, they are still prone to fluctuations in the population.
?The lemming populations build up over a period of years to abnormal numbers and then comes a crash fall and numbers are reduced to normal?(Dr. Maurice Burton: Lemmings. Wildlife Encyclopedia, volume (10): 1301-1302)
What causes these population explosions and what happens when the population gets to high? In the last ten years these questions have been particularly studied and several accounts have been published, including one by Kai Curry-Lindahl, in Natural history for August-September 1963.
Curry-Lindahl gives three main reasons for the population explosions.
?First an early spring and a late autumn produce favorable climate conditions that not only yield an abundance of food but give the lemmings a longer period in which to take advantage of it. Secondly, mild winters with thaws and also severe winters are damaging to winter breeding. In winters that are between these extremes there is a high rate of breeding and of survival among the young. The third is that because of the lack of enemies (Arctic Fox, Snowy owl, and Ermine) during winter there is no brake on the mounting increases in numbers resulting from the first two.?
When the population density gets to large the food sources are quickly diminished and the lemmings must embark on a journey in search of new food in a new land.
?Lemmings migrate periodically from their home area when their population begins to exceed the food supply?. (J. Tast, Lemmus lemmus ? Berglemming, pp. 87 – 105, by Jochen Niethammer, 1982)
The lemmings don?t really seem to show any pattern in their migrations, they do not follow a set direction and they do not follow any leaders.
?Mass movements of lemmings are very aimless, although they may travel several miles each day?. (Macdonald, D. W. 1984. The encyclopedia of mammals. Facts on File Inc. New York. Pp. 650-657. )
?When there is a population explosion panic follows and the lemmings move haphazardly in all directions.? (Dr. Maurice Burton: Lemmings.Wildlife Encyclopedia, volume (10): 1301-1302)
?They may go up mountains as well as down into trenches. They may go to any point of the compass. They may go over glaciers or swim across rivers or lakes or as in Norway where mountains run down strait to the sea, into the sea.? (Macdonald, D. W. 1984. The encyclopedia of mammals. Facts on File Inc. New York. Pp. 650-657. )
Many lemmings die by throwing themselves off cliffs, crossing dangerous city streets, or trying to swim across the ocean.
?Their determination is such that they will cross busy roads, down steep cliffs and swim through rivers and lakes without stopping.? (Robin Dunbar: Mammals. Remarkable Animals, Volume (1): p40)
This behavior is why people have come to view the lemming as a suicidal maniac mouse. Ultimately they are trying to find food to support the abnormally high population.
But why would they kill themselves in the process of trying to find food? No one knows for sure why the lemmings put their own lives at risk, some say it is bad judgement, ?The drowning of lemmings was once thought to be a mass suicide by crazed, overcrowded lemmings. More likely it is just bad judgment on their part.
?Lemmings are small and have no way of estimating the size of the ocean? (GrantHummer and Daniel Babai: Lemmings. Internet WWW- page, URL: ucls.uchicago.edu/projects/1996-97/Hillocks96/lemmings.html)
Other naturalists say that it is stress among the lemming groups.
?Lemmings live secluded lives on mountain tops and are probably intolerant of each others company, when they move down into the valleys they become gregarious. For a while, therefore they crowd together, feed amicably side by side and share burrows. As the numbers rise, so the stress mounts, with a high death rate and many try to leave the area even if the result is death.? (Macdonald, D. W. 1984. The encyclopedia of mammals. Facts on File Inc. New York. Pp. 650-657. )
Naturalist like WB Quay believe that lemmings do not consider their death a loss, maybe they consider it a contribution to the survival of the species, these strange migrations are bedded so deep into the mind of the creature that it is more of unstoppable instinct than a conscientious thought. (An article from the German magazine ?Neue Welt?, number 48/1998)
Because no one really knows why lemmings put them selves to rest, many stories and legends have arisen as a result of lack of knowledge. Zeigler, a geographer in Norway wrote the first published account of the suicidal tendencies of the Norwegian lemming, in 1532. He stated that in stormy weather lemming?s fell from the sky, that there bite was poisonous and that they died when the spring grass began to sprout. In 1718, Jovan Norberg said
?People maintain that clouds leave behind vermin called mountain mice or lemmings?. (Macdonald, D. W. 1984. The encyclopedia of mammals. Facts on File Inc. New York. Pp. 650-657.)
Even the Inuit Eskimos have similar beliefs about lemmings falling from the sky. A 19th Century naturalist, Edward Nelson recounts:
“The Norton Sound Eskimo have an odd superstition that the White Lemming lives in the land beyond the stars and that it sometimes comes down to the earth, descending in a spiral course during snow-storms. I have known old men to insist that they had seen them coming down.? (Smithsonian Institute. Internet WWW- page, URL: mnh.si.edu/arctic/html/lemming.html)
The lemming is an animal shrouded in fiction and misinterpretation. Eleven different types of lemming are found throughout the Arctic Circle. The lemming is well adapted for life in the in the tundra. Of the entire species the Norwegian is the most famous and is the subject of countless studies. The Norway lemming embarks on a kamikaze migration in search of food that has bewildered scientist for centuries. No matter how strange the lemming may seem it has lived virtually unchanged for millions of years.
Другие работы по теме:
Mythology Essay Research Paper
People of the ancient world needed something to believe in, a deity or an idea. The reason for mythology is not known for sure, but it is thought to be a kind of religion and an answer to how something in nature came into existence. This would be ideas like; man, animals, flowers or trees, the sun, the moon, the stars, earthquakes, etc.
Untitled Essay Research Paper The Riddle of
Untitled Essay, Research Paper The Riddle of the SphinxThe study of myths probably began in the 4th century. BC. when Euthemerus explained them as exaggerated adventures of historical individuals. The allegorical
Abraham Lincoln Essay Research Paper In Abraham
Abraham Lincoln Essay, Research Paper In Abraham Lincoln: The Man Behind the Myths, Stephen Oates interpretation of the Historical Lincoln had three examples of Lincoln’s actions; Moral decisions, his expression and progression. The first illustration that I see is his beliefs in moral determination.
Myths Meaning Essay Research Paper Kuka Teran111899Mr
Myths Meaning Essay, Research Paper Kuka Teran 11/18/99 Mr. Coughlin Myths Meaning “A myth is a story that is not true on the outside, but true on the inside.” In the story of the creation of all living things as well as the sky, sun, moon and stars there is a meaning that most people, when reading the bible, seem to just read over and not stop and take time to understand this somewhat subliminal message within Genesis.
Genius Essay Research Paper GenesisGenesis is the
Genius Essay, Research Paper Genesis Genesis is the start of a new beginning. In the King James Translation, the book of Genesis explains how everything came to be. Lord God creates meaningful things to establish the Earth. Amongst his creation he creates man and woman.
Race Comparing Mobility Essay Research Paper This
Race, Comparing Mobility Essay, Research Paper This evaluative question has two different topics in it. First there is the issue of declining health, but there is also a issue that we have discussed before, a African American who has achieved success but isn+t quite happy with this new life. Although separate issues, both would not be able to understand how the other felt because these are issues that you would have to experience yourself to fully understand.
Myth Comparison Essay Research Paper Compare Contrast
Myth Comparison Essay, Research Paper Compare/ Contrast essayDecember 6, 1998Final Draft Comparison Essay Myths are one of the ways people attempt to explain the unexplainable. With the development modern technology the myth has been much less used. According to Webster’s college dictionary myth is defined as “A traditional or legendary story, especially one that involves gods and heroes and explains a cultural practice or natural phenomenon.” To me myths are a wonderful thing; they represent creativity and are a very good way to explain things to kids.
Indian Creation Myth Essay Research Paper There
Indian Creation Myth Essay, Research Paper There are many interpretations of the Indian creation myth. They are all representations of the main principle of Brahman, which is described as being “everywhere and nowhere, everything and nothing.” (A Dictionary of Creation Myths, p.139, David Leeming and Margaret Leeming) Creation came from Brahman’s thought, or the actions of the god Brahma, who is the representation of Brahman as a man.
Mythology Essay Research Paper MythologyEvery race of
Mythology Essay, Research Paper Mythology Every race of humans and most cultures believed in a myth or type of myth at one time. Sometimes a myth can be something small like a teacher who?s said to be an alien. Yet some are quite big and still believed in today like the loch ness monster. Myths have been around since the beginning of time and will be there to the end.
Social Stratificationrace Essay Research Paper Reaction Paper
Social Stratification:race Essay, Research Paper Reaction Paper on Social Stratification Article: Halberstam, David. “The Myths and Realities of Blacks in Professional Basketball.” Sport in Contemporary: An Anthology. Edited by D. Stanley Eitzen. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1989, 315-323.
Immigration In Canada Essay Research Paper IMMIGRATION
Immigration In Canada Essay, Research Paper IMMIGRATION IN CANADA Canada should support immigration as it isneeded and should be encouraged. Most Canadians forget,they are descendants of immigrants. In this essay thefollowing will be discussed : – need for immigrants – the myths about immigrants – illegal and inadmissible immigrants.
Greek Gods Essay Research Paper The Greek
Greek Gods Essay, Research Paper The Greek Gods Many people would blatantly state that the importance of the gods in Greek society derives from the fact that Gods in any society are usually used to explain phenomenon that people cannot logically comprehend, but in ancient Greece gods were actually entities that took part in the workings of society itself.
Medea By Euripides Essay Research Paper MEDEAEuripides
Medea By Euripides Essay, Research Paper MEDEA Euripides was intrigued by the old Greek myths that surrounded him. Some writers 1 feel that he represented a critical, sceptical mind at work on these myths, being more interested in individual psychology and removed from the ritual origins of drama. Considered to be third in time of the three great tragic poets of Greek theatre, his reputation grew even after his death in 406 B.C.
Collective Memory Essay Research Paper Anthony D
Collective Memory Essay, Research Paper Anthony D. Smith who wrote National Identity and Myths of Ethnic Descent discussed how myths are formed and how they can lead to the ethnic regeneration within a group of people. He associated his ideas on ethnic regeneration with the countries of Turkey, Greece, England, France, and Israel.
Huck Finn Superstition Essay Research Paper Mark
Huck Finn Superstition Essay, Research Paper Mark Twain saturates the novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn with many examples of superstition and myths. These aspects of the novel help the story progress, they
Another Computer Essay Essay Research Paper The
Another Computer Essay Essay, Research Paper The Computer Underground. The beginning of the electronic communication revolution that started with the public use of telephones to the emergence
The Courtship Of Miles Standish By Henry
Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882) Essay, Research Paper Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was brought up as a New England aristocrat steeped in European culture. His works,
Creation Myth Essay Research Paper Cody ClareNov4
Creation Myth Essay, Research Paper Cody Clare Nov,4. 1997 All of the myths that we have read have had many parts which are very similar to other creation myths, no matter their origin or continent that they are from.
Creation In Myths Essay Research Paper Torrefiel
Creation In Myths Essay, Research Paper Torrefiel, Neil Lucero The creation of man and the world is a question that has resonated since the conscience of thought and analysis began. We as human beings have the tendency to seek out the reasons and truths of the phenomena that occur around us, and our desire to achieve answers has not hindered our exploration of human existence.
Indian Creation Myths Essay Research Paper In
Indian Creation Myths Essay, Research Paper In reading three different Indian creation myths, The Emergence, Lodge-Boy and Thrown-Away, and The Woman who Fell from the Sky, we are taught many things not only about creation myths themselves, but about the culture from which they originated. These creation myths contain many of the same universal elements that are found in nearly all creation myths and they demonstrate for us the degree to which the Indians felt we truly are one with nature.
Four Myth Theories Essay Research Paper Four
Four Myth Theories Essay, Research Paper Four Theories of Myth There are four basic theories of myth. Those theories are: the rational myth theory, functional myth theory, structural myth theory, and the phsycological myth theory. The rational myth theory states that myths were created to explain natural events and forces.
Mythology Essay Research Paper What is mythology
Mythology Essay, Research Paper What is mythology? Mythology is like a fib that started many years ago in the olden days. It is still around due to people still continuing to use a myth as the truth. They seem to not know the difference between a myth and a legend. People these days are so naive it is ashame to know the rate of people that actually believe those myths.
The Tundra Essay Research Paper Tundra is
The Tundra Essay, Research Paper Tundra is a large region located in the northern hemisphere of the world. It is also known as the Barren Land and it lies principally along the Arctic Circle, on the coast and islands of the Arctic Ocean, and to the north of the coniferous forest belt. In Canada, the southern boundary extends from the Mackenzie Delta to southern Hudson Bay and northeast to Labrador.
Myths Essay Research Paper MythsThe various complexes
Myths Essay, Research Paper Myths The various complexes of stories about the gods are called myths. What people first think of when they hear the word “myth” is “false story”, for they no longer believe in most of them. But there is another side, one that should not be overlooked: myths arise from the human belief that reality is intelligible.
Myths And Moundbuilders Essay Research Paper MYTHS
Myths And Moundbuilders Essay, Research Paper MYTHS AND MOUNDBUILDERS The extraordinary mounds found in the Midwest is home to many myths and stories of the Moundbuilders. The Moundbuilders mysteries reside around the Ohio and Illinois flatlands. Though this group of people have been wiped out for thousands of years now, many archeologists are fascinated with way of life.
Lololoo Essay Research Paper Darwin doesn
Lololoo Essay, Research Paper Darwin doesn’t work here any more Richard Milton spent some twenty years studying the geology and palaeontology of the British Isles before writing Shattering the Myths of Darwinism.??
Mythology Essay Research Paper The origin of
Mythology Essay, Research Paper The origin of the universe can be explained by modern astronomers and astrophysicists, while archaeologists and historians try to clarify the origin of human societies. In the distant past, however, before any sciences existed, the beginnings of the world and of society were explained by MYTHOLOGY.
Definition Of Myths Essay Research Paper Definition
Definition Of Myths Essay, Research Paper Definition Essay The origin of the word myth seems to be a myth in itself. Myths have generally originated from a Greek history that used an oral tradition to explain events that occurred before the written word. Often supernatural beings or fictitious characters were used to explain popular ideas concerning phenomena’s of nature or the history of people.
The History Of Myths Essay Research Paper
Myths are, like, really old and they date back to really old guys. BAck in the “old school” world of myths people made up stories about dudes doing stuff.Myths are, like, really old and they date back to really old guys. BAck in the “old school” world of myths people made up stories about dudes doing stuff.Myths are, like, really old and they date back to really old guys.
Aids Essay Research Paper AIDSAcquired Deficiency Disease
Aids Essay, Research Paper AIDS Acquired Deficiency Disease is a deadly disease that has claimed many lives, both young and old, across our nation and throughout the world. Due to the lack of education concerning this disease, many myths as to how AIDS is contracted is spread. Contrary to what people believe, there are many precautions that can be taken to to avoid becoming infected.
Myths Essay Research Paper Is Information Technology
Myths Essay, Research Paper Is Information Technology a good thing? With the invention of the silicon chip, fiber optic cable and satellite communications the information superhighway is real. This global network of computers makes it possible to move massive amounts of information virtually anyplace.
Myths Test Essay Research Paper MYTHS AND
Myths Test Essay, Research Paper MYTHS AND THEIR MEANINGS TEST CHAPTERS 1-6 NAME__________________________________ DATE ___/___/___ CH. 1 ___1. GAEA A. RULER OF THE MOON
Organ Donation Essay Research Paper Lane HamiltonPersuasion
Organ Donation Essay, Research Paper Lane Hamilton Persuasion Paper Organ Donation As of 1995 there were 30,000 people on a waiting list to receive an organ transplant. Another person joined the list every twenty minutes, which at this rate the list would grow to 50,000 by 1997(Public Health, Internet).
A Look At Zen Essay Research Paper
FINAL PAPER LBRL STUDIES 272 MARK FERGUSON The study of Zen, it seems, became a main preoccupation of the Japanese, something never seen elsewhere. Embracing it with gusto, allowing it to mingle with old tales and myths, the Japanese raised Buddhism to a new height.