--- title: Myth check: do lemmings jump off cliffs? — a lesson of Mova's school · trees and pragmatics description: «Myth check: do lemmings jump off cliffs?», a lesson of the biology course of Mova's primary school, sentence by sentence with dependency trees and pragmatics. It begins: It is not true. --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/150-myth-check-do-lemmings-jump-off-cliffs/) [home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/) / [school](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/) / [Biology](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/) / Myth check: do lemmings jump off cliffs? # Myth check: do lemmings jump off cliffs? Lesson 150 of the biology course of Mova's primary school: 16 sentences, each with its syntax tree and pragmatics. The lessons are written for Mova, and their agreed trees are part of Mova corpus 0.4 (CC BY-SA 4.0). How Mova does on its tests: [the lesson at school](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/biology/150-myth-check-do-lemmings-jump-off-cliffs/). - [1](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/150-myth-check-do-lemmings-jump-off-cliffs/1/) — It is not true. - [2](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/150-myth-check-do-lemmings-jump-off-cliffs/2/) — The story became famous through a 1958 nature film: the film makers brought lemmings in and pushed them off a cliff for the camera, because they believed an old story and wanted a dramatic scene. - [3](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/150-myth-check-do-lemmings-jump-off-cliffs/3/) — The truth is stranger: lemming numbers boom and crash every three to four years, and in boom years crowds of lemmings spread out looking for food, swim rivers and lakes, and some drown, not because they want to die but because they are moving on. - [4](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/150-myth-check-do-lemmings-jump-off-cliffs/4/) — Picture the Arctic in winter: under the snow, in a hidden world near the ground, lemmings dig tunnels, build grass nests and even raise babies, while above them a snowy owl and an Arctic fox wait for one to pop up. - [5](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/150-myth-check-do-lemmings-jump-off-cliffs/5/) — Lemmings do not jump off cliffs on purpose; the famous 1958 film scene was staged by bringing lemmings in and pushing them off. - [6](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/150-myth-check-do-lemmings-jump-off-cliffs/6/) — Lemmings are small rodents related to voles, living on the tundra and mountains of Scandinavia, Russia, Canada and Alaska, eating grasses, moss and sedges. - [7](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/150-myth-check-do-lemmings-jump-off-cliffs/7/) — Lemming numbers rise and fall in cycles, often every three to four years: plenty of food means fast breeding, then food runs short, predators increase and numbers crash. - [8](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/150-myth-check-do-lemmings-jump-off-cliffs/8/) — In boom years lemmings spread out in search of food and may swim rivers and lakes, and some drown; this may be where the cliff myth began. - [9](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/150-myth-check-do-lemmings-jump-off-cliffs/9/) — Norwegian lemmings are bold and brightly coloured, and they often squeak and stand their ground against much bigger animals. - [10](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/150-myth-check-do-lemmings-jump-off-cliffs/10/) — Snowy owls, Arctic foxes, stoats and skuas depend on lemmings; in good years they raise big families, and in bad years snowy owls may not nest at all. - [11](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/150-myth-check-do-lemmings-jump-off-cliffs/11/) — An Arctic fox mother can have over ten cubs in a good lemming year. - [12](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/150-myth-check-do-lemmings-jump-off-cliffs/12/) — The 1991 computer game «Lemmings» made the myth more famous, though the player's job was to save them. - [13](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/150-myth-check-do-lemmings-jump-off-cliffs/13/) — An old Scandinavian folk story said lemmings fell from the sky in storms, because they appeared so suddenly in boom years. - [14](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/150-myth-check-do-lemmings-jump-off-cliffs/14/) — In winter lemmings live in a space between the ground and the snow; snow is full of trapped air, so it works like a blanket and keeps them near freezing point while the air above is far colder. - [15](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/150-myth-check-do-lemmings-jump-off-cliffs/15/) — Rain falling on snow can freeze into hard ice layers that seal lemmings off from their food and soak their nests, and in parts of Norway boom years became rarer for a while as winters changed. - [16](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/150-myth-check-do-lemmings-jump-off-cliffs/16/) — Some books and quizzes still repeat the cliff myth, because people copy facts without checking where they came from. - ← previous: [Myth check: are elephants scared of mice?](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/149-myth-check-are-elephants-scared-of-mice/) - next →: [Myth check: do ostriches bury their heads in the sand?](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/151-ostriches-and-heads-in-the-sand/) - ↑ back to [Biology](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/)