Kathy Nielson, age 14, of Sat Lake City, Utah, for her question:

WHY Do LEMMINGS COMMIT SUICIDE?

Legend would have us believe that lemmings  plump little animals related to the mouse  march to the sea by the score and drown themselves. The fact is, however, no such mass suici$e exists in real life. True, lemmings do pour down from their'mountain homes into the woodlands, and some may spill over 4 cliff into the sea. But this is not a deliberately suicidal action on their part: They are merely moving away from hordes of enemies and wholesale starvation.

Lemmings are tiny four  to five inch furry animals who belong to the order Rodentia. They live in the cold, northern parts of the world and eat mainly grasses and lichens. Every so often their numbers increase to the point where the crowded conditions are intolerable. Mass evacuation of the area occurs as they swarm in every direction, easy prey for enemies and swift victims of teeming seas. The few survivors that remain at home start the cycle all over again.