John Flood, age 12, of Clarksville, Tennessee, ,for his question:

Do lemmings really commit suicide?

Small animals do not think as we do. They spend their lives in sort of hazy dream world and our notions of murder and suicide are completely beyond their grasp. Large cumbers of lemmings do indeed plunge into the sea and end their lives. But we cannot consider this suicide in our meariirig of the word. What's more, most experts suspect that the dismal tragedy happens quite by accident. The swarming lemmings are believed to mistake the wide ocean for just one more river to be crossed.

Lemmings multiply at a great rate and their territory constantly is overrun with population explosions. Food runs short and large hordes of hungry lemmings start out to find better living conditions. The sociable animals travel in swarming crowds on and on across the plains and valleys. When they reach a stream, in they plunge and swim to the otherside. Some find suitable new territory and settle there. Other swarms go on until they reach the sea. In they plunge, perhaps expecting to find greener pastures on the other side but the wide expanse of water is too much for the furry little swimmers and they perish.