Lemmings Don't Jump

The first thing you should know about lemmings is that they don't commit mass suicide by jumping off cliffs, no matter how many Far Side cartoons you’ve read or what Walt Disney documentaries told you.

Wildlife cinematographer Mario Benassi has filmed species from jaguars in Mexico to gorillas in Rwanda to vipers in Costa Rica.

These days he's based in Haines, Alaska, where he helps run a wildlife films center, a 60-acre park where visitors can view numerous species of Alaskan wildlife -- including a little-known, little-seen, but hugely important Arctic critter that Alaska natives believe could very well be from heaven. Rebecca Sheir brought us the story, and you can listen to it at the Public Radio Exchange.

(Photo by kgleditsch via Flickr/Creative Commons)