So why is the myth of mass lemming suicide so widely believed? For one, it provides an irresistible metaphor for human behavior. Someone who blindly follows a crowd—maybe even toward catastrophe—is called a lemming.

Are lemmings predators?

This is precisely the pattern that we see (Table 1). These results are therefore consistent with the hypothesis that lemmings are functional predators, whereas voles are functional prey.

Does a lemming hibernate?

Unlike many Arctic animals, lemmings do not hibernate through the winter. Instead, they forage along runs and tunnels dug beneath the snow layer. This allows them to carry on breeding even as temperatures drop to -20 °C, driving the population up.