Pen-Elayne on the Web

Animals Were Harmed During the Making

Via Anne Zook, an article about a study of lemmings just published in the journal Science, which has determined the 4-year fluctuation cycles in lemming population are entirely due to predation, not the "throwing themselves off cliffs" myth. What really shocked me was at the article's end:

Despite the new finding, lemming scientists expect to continue to be plagued by suicide queries. In particular, they blame a 1958 Walt Disney nature film, "White Wilderness," in which lemmings were shown hurling themselves off a cliff.

In 1983 a Canadian documentary, "Cruel Camera," about abuse of animals in movies, asserted that the scene was faked, using lemmings bought from Eskimo children and herded into the water. That conclusion has come to be widely accepted, and yesterday Rena Langley, a spokeswoman for the Walt Disney Company, did not dispute it.

Naturally, Snopes is all over this, and I expect the referenced page may be updated even more now that the Science finding is out.