Most irritating animal misconceptions

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Re: Most irritating animal misconceptions

Post by Hazelflower » Sat Jan 25, 2020 10:11 pm

Yes it would probably be hard to find truly sustainable wild caught or farmed fish, except in very small quantities.

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Re: Most irritating animal misconceptions

Post by Mwitu » Tue Feb 11, 2020 5:53 pm

- That lions are "the kings of the jungle" (despite their living in the savanna).

- That cats are disloyal and don't care about you (oh, and will claw you to pieces). I know people have already mentioned cats, but I felt rather morally obligated to mention it :lol:

- That adult wolves have blue eyes.

- Once someone said that water snakes are amphibious because they can swim. Well, if I happen to be able to swim as well, does that mean I'm an amphibian? Who knew?

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Re: Most irritating animal misconceptions

Post by DinoDogDude209 » Sat Feb 15, 2020 9:14 am

When people seem to forget that only male Turkeys (or gobblers) will make the iconic gobble sound. Female turkeys make more of a clucking sound. Some folks seem to think that both male and female turkeys gobble. I have no idea where this misconception came from.

That the Pronghorn Antelope of western North America is an actual antelope. It isn't, it was just called an antelope because it fills a similar niche to the true antelopes of the Old World. It also isn't accurate to label it as a "Speed Goat" because it is not even a species of goat either, nor is it a type of deer or part of any other animal family. It is in its own family and genus and is actually more closely related to the Giraffe and Okapi than any true antelopes, goats, or deer. Yet I still often see it being confused with true antelopes of the Old World.

That there are only 3 species of bear in the world: The Grizzly Bear, Polar Bear, and Black Bear. This is so far from the case that it begs the question of whether the individual who believes this even knows what a bear is. According to World Atlas, there are eight currently existing species of bears in the world, including the Sun Bear, Sloth Bear, Asian Black Bear, American Black Bear, Spectacled Bear, Brown Bear, Polar Bear, and Giant Panda. Most people I've seen who believe this "3 Little Bears" myth are my fellow Americans, who, in the context of bear species living on the North American continent, are technically correct. However, this shows a clear lack of understanding of how widespread bears are and how many species there really are. Then there's the flip side of the coin where there are people who think that there's even more bear species like the Kermode Bear, Grizzly Bear, or Kodiak Bear, which are really just different subspecies of the American Black Bear and Brown Bear.

When visiting a local diner in my home state that my sister works at, the name of which is literally "The Bear" and whose symbol is a bear, with many bear-themed decorations, I saw this myth being spread in a way that really bothered me as a wildlife enthusiast and made me cringe. (And no, there was no actual bear meat being served at this diner, it's just a symbol of the diner and a marketing slogan). They had three main menus for "The three different types of bears" a breakfast menu titled "The Black Bear" a lunch/dinner menu titled "The Grizzly Bear" and a dessert menu called "The Polar Bear". :roll: I mentioned it to my sister on the ride home that this was entirely untrue, and then I said "What about the Sloth Bear, Panda Bear, and Sun Bear?" and she was dumbfounded because she apparently didn't know that any of those existed (besides the Giant Panda, which she apparently thought was in the same family as the similarly named Red Panda, which is a whole other misconception entirely). This misconception may be completely unheard of to some, but you would be appalled by the number of misinformed people in the U.S. who actually seem to believe this.

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Re: Most irritating animal misconceptions

Post by Nek0chan » Wed Sep 09, 2020 7:54 am

- feeding (intact) feral/stray cats helps them.

- Dogs can eat grapes/chocolate/have alcohol. (yes, for real... There's a guy where I live who used to let his dog drink beer, ugh :x)

- Owls can spin their heads 360 degrees.

- Wolf packs have ranks such as "alpha", "beta", "omega", etc.

- Adult cats can digest cow's milk.
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Re: Most irritating animal misconceptions

Post by Tiller-Noir » Fri Feb 05, 2021 8:03 pm

- Hyenas are evil, cowardly, low-life scavengers.

- Releasing goldfish into a natural water body is “saving them/releasing them.”

- Rats/mice are ugly and nothing more than pests.


(Sorry if any of these have been repeated before)
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Re: Most irritating animal misconceptions

Post by DaniBeez » Tue Mar 02, 2021 4:47 pm

A friend remarked that a coydog would make a great pet.
No thanks!!
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Re: Most irritating animal misconceptions

Post by Sambhur » Thu Jul 22, 2021 12:27 am

Biggest one that's been getting on my nerves lately is that people seem to think that pigeons = parrots, and therefore must also be fed fruits and veg (no seeds!) or else you're neglecting them. We call certain animals granivores for a reason lol.
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Re: Most irritating animal misconceptions

Post by alethe » Thu Jul 29, 2021 1:03 pm

that bald eagles are noble and powerful hunters, lol. bald eagles are primarily fish hunters, but that's assuming they do hunt. there's a reason why there are very few vultures in alaska. bald eagles fill their niche. they will scavenge anything they can find, and if that's not available, they'll steal it from other birds. then, only then, will they hunt.
this is also why they are commonly infected with lead poisoning. hunters leave led shot in carcasses, which the eagles get into and get sick.

on the flip side, another irritating one is that vultures are ugly and disgusting. i have had people ignore me at programs if i have a vulture and even walk out of the theater when our vulture comes out. it's disheartening! vultures are very inquisitive, intelligent birds. they are beautiful and vital to our ecosystem. everyone should love vultures! besides, who can say no to this face? anyone? anyone? i'm waiting.

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Re: Most irritating animal misconceptions

Post by rowantobias » Thu Jul 29, 2021 1:59 pm

people thinking cats and dogs do bad things to 'punish' their owners... no!!! they're sick!!! take them to the vet bro!
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Re: Most irritating animal misconceptions

Post by alethe » Sun Aug 01, 2021 12:33 pm

that feral cats are wildlife and TNR programs work


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