Respect your local wildlife : whitepeopletwitter

[-] NakariLexfortaine@lemm.ee 94 points 5 months ago

As the local "weird possum girl", they are very intelligent! They shouldn't be!

See, opossum have smooth brains. This isn't normally linked to a high intelligence. Yet, they can remember if a food is toxic for up to two weeks after ingesting it, can learn and remember how to operate different sliding locks, and can solve simple puzzles with the right motivation(food)!

They can also form bonds, remembering people they like and dislike. Which is kinda funny to think about, because their babies spend a period of time riding around on moms back before they're big enough to waddle off on their own. If one falls off, she may very well trundle off, leaving the little one behind, who may hitch a ride on a totally different jill that happens to walk by.

[-] Draegur@lemm.ee 31 points 5 months ago

goodness how i wish there was a weird possum girl in my locality

i would buy her lunch

not to eat with her as some creepy implied commitment to a date but because free food is an appropriate gift for opossum enthusiasts and I am just as happy for her to enjoy it without me if she so chooses.

(but to be fair i would prefer if she'd join me so i can listen to her talk about opossum facts)

[-] NakariLexfortaine@lemm.ee 20 points 5 months ago

I'd recommend something besides lunch for that, or at least have a strong stomach.

You'll eventually hit the gross facts, and the little guys can get gross. Still absolutely adorable scavengers who play a key part in the decay cycle, but gross.

[-] BubbleMonkey@slrpnk.net 9 points 5 months ago

I’ve a strong stomach, and insatiable curiosity.

What kind of gross? Like rabbits eating their own first-pass poo?

(My RN mother used to watch graphic surgical shows during dinner so almost nothing really bothers me…. Except spelunkers getting stuck in caves. Holy fuck does that bother me and I’ll never be in a cave, so very illogical phobia)

[-] NakariLexfortaine@lemm.ee 7 points 5 months ago

It's not just the first pass for a possum. It's every pass, as it may still carry excess nutrients they now need. They do it from a very young age.

They have a cloyingly sweet feces that stays on whatever fabric you're wearing while handling poop dishes in rehabs. They prefer moving water, but any water will do. I cannot put the smell into words. It's burned into your nostrils for hours after.

Cannibalism isn't uncommon amongst the species, but we have no clue why. They just randomly decide to eat each other.

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[-] BlemboTheThird@lemmy.ca 27 points 5 months ago

Two weeks doesn't seem like all that long before forgetting that some food was toxic lol

[-] chatokun@lemmy.dbzer0.com 18 points 5 months ago

Tell that to lactose intolerant people who love cheese. -from the very same.

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[-] dogsnest@lemmy.world 18 points 5 months ago

This gal possums.

[-] CosmicTurtle0@lemmy.dbzer0.com 9 points 5 months ago

subscribe

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[-] Draegur@lemm.ee 42 points 5 months ago

Oppossoms are better than merely smart. They eat HELLA PEST INSECTS!

now, Geese...

Geese are fiercely protective of their families and flocks and are amazing at guarding territory; they cannot be bribed or ingratiated. In brazil, a prison has provided a habitat for geese around the facility between the inner fence and the outer wall which has been surprisingly effective at discouraged escape attempts.

[-] Mouselemming@sh.itjust.works 10 points 5 months ago

Can't be bribed? What if you could get a clutch of goose eggs to imprint on you? Then you'd be part of the family and invincible with your goose army! You could go goose-stepping across the continent!

[-] Draegur@lemm.ee 24 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

Let's make a deal:

You go ahead and try to get close enough to a clutch of goose eggs that you can incubate them to hatching;

I'll point and laugh as their parents and all the other geese in the entire flock swarm you in a solid frenzied wall of honking, hissing, biting, bludgeoning, implacable white-hot incandescent fury.

You are proposing to fuck with a force of nature, my friend. I can't stop you. But they can. X3

[-] Mouselemming@sh.itjust.works 8 points 5 months ago

Since they're just outside your home, you make a hole in the wall and build a nest box inside it. Eggs get laid in there. When hatching day nears, you toss food over the wall to tempt mom off the nest for a minute. As soon as she steps away, you slam down a portcullis and take over childcare on your side of the wall. Later you and your goose tribe raise the portcullis and march forth together.

Of course, it could fail disastrously.

[-] BubbleMonkey@slrpnk.net 10 points 5 months ago

I know you posted jokingly, but I can’t help myself.

Geese lay their eggs in fairly open spots on the ground, typically near water (often barely out of the water in my experience), not really ever in nest boxes (I’ve never heard of them using a covered/enclosed space for nesting, and we have tons of them around here). They want a clear view of their surroundings, and ready access to water for their hatchlings. The females incubate and the males stay near to guard the nest, because they like to be exposed, and are mean as hell as a direct result of their nesting behavior.

You’d be better off just buying fertile eggs and incubating them wholly independently, but they likely wouldn’t be accepted into the wild flock if they aren’t hatched by one of the flock, even if they are initially incubated by one. I mean I’m not super sure if geese “adopt” other goslings, as they are mostly self-sufficient within a few days, but if they do I doubt they would be fully strangers like they would be if you swipe them.

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[-] jaschen@lemm.ee 29 points 5 months ago

My favorite game is Untitled Goose Game.

[-] RoquetteQueen@sh.itjust.works 11 points 5 months ago

Nothing comes close to making my children laugh as much as that game. I love when they play it.

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[-] supersquirrel@sopuli.xyz 25 points 5 months ago

Squirrels aren’t just good climbers, squirrels are professional circus performers who are constantly putting on free shows for everybody.

Squirrels are hilarious, they don’t get enough credit.

[-] pancakes@sh.itjust.works 14 points 5 months ago

My neighborhood squirrel hung upsidedown on our bird feeder holding the top with his feet while he ninja'd seeds out of the feeder. I was more impressed than anything.

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[-] rab@lemmy.ca 25 points 5 months ago

Actually owls are really stupid. Like surprisingly stupid

[-] WhiskyTangoFoxtrot@lemmy.world 14 points 5 months ago

Yeah. Three licks my ass.

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[-] mdd@lemm.ee 23 points 5 months ago

Cobra Chicken. That is all.

[-] Cobrachicken@lemmy.world 11 points 5 months ago

Hey!

[-] MystikIncarnate@lemmy.ca 22 points 5 months ago

Geese make a great defensive line.

[-] the_third@feddit.de 14 points 5 months ago

They're basically slightly idiotic guard dogs with an element of surprise.

[-] cynar@lemmy.world 12 points 5 months ago

You can bribe a guard dog, you won't bribe a flock of geese. The owner will know you are there, and there WILL be blood!

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[-] humbletightband@lemmy.dbzer0.com 20 points 5 months ago

Geese are TASTY

[-] ininewcrow@lemmy.ca 14 points 5 months ago

Very tasty and when cooked properly at the right time of year are more like a roast beef than poultry.

I've had it roasted whole over a fire, roasted like a turkey in the oven, boiled in stew, pan fried, split roasted over a fire, smoked, seasoned and preserved in salt, pork fat and goose fat. I grew up eating it with rice, potatoes, carrots and dumplings. I could drink the gravy like an energy drink. I used to sit with my mom every spring to roast dozens of gizzards and hearts while I helped her pluck, gut, prepare the birds for smoking and eating.

In the wilderness I'm not afraid of geese because i see them as food. In the city I'm afraid of geese because if I killed one to eat, I'd be arrested for some kind of law and sent to be evaluated for a mental disorder.

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[-] ThePantser@lemmy.world 20 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

Owls are very wise geese.

[-] bionicjoey@lemmy.ca 10 points 5 months ago

Tbh that's not wrong

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[-] Beinion1011@lemmy.world 19 points 5 months ago

You got a problem with Canadian Gooses then you got a problem with me and I suggest you let that one marinate

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[-] confusedpuppy@lemmy.dbzer0.com 18 points 5 months ago

I found the best way to walk through a crowd of geese is to avoid eye contact at all costs. Pretend it's an empty field and you'll most likely be safe.

It's like an extreme sport but without the price tag. Although I would not walk through a crowd of geese if babies are present, no matter how cute, fluffy and snuggly they look.

[-] Zorsith@lemmy.blahaj.zone 18 points 5 months ago

What about crows? Crows are pretty cool

[-] edgemaster72@lemmy.world 17 points 5 months ago

They'll remember that they were slighted in this post and make the Nebraska Humane Society pay for this insult

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[-] njm1314@lemmy.world 16 points 5 months ago

No, deer are rats with hooves.

[-] lastlighthousekeeper@discuss.tchncs.de 14 points 5 months ago

Rats are cute and intelligent.

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[-] buzz86us@lemmy.world 15 points 5 months ago

Nobody thinks of the poor possum holding it down for marsupials in north America

[-] iAvicenna@lemmy.world 13 points 5 months ago

Geese will kill you for looking at them funny

[-] umbraroze@lemmy.world 13 points 5 months ago

Turtles are SURPRISINGLY FAST and also have SHELL ACCESS so every Linux geek should appreciate them

[-] UmeU@lemmy.world 12 points 5 months ago

Ravens make this gurgling throw up noise which is pretty cool

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[-] SternburgExport@feddit.de 11 points 5 months ago

geese nutz

[-] LaunchesKayaks@lemmy.world 8 points 5 months ago

Gottem

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[-] RampantParanoia2365@lemmy.world 11 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

My owl friend has returned to my neighborhood and I can hear him hooting at night. I've never met, interacted with, or seen this friend, but I love him all the same.

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[-] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 11 points 5 months ago

Inside a goose's mouth.

That's all I have to say on the matter.

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[-] Albbi@lemmy.ca 9 points 5 months ago

Geese are evil flying snakes. They'll even hiss at you.

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[-] ganksy@lemmy.world 8 points 5 months ago

Geese are uh well...geese

[-] ohwhatfollyisman@lemmy.world 8 points 5 months ago

why is squirrel spelled like a professor from Hogwarts?

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[-] ultratiem@lemmy.ca 8 points 5 months ago

We have geese here and basically come in during spring and literally take over. They are all over the beach, shit on every grass patch and generally have attitudes when you walk by. Some even posturing up like they are going to charge.

They are the assholes of the bird kingdom. They sit on roof tops and beak off from 4am to 7am, honking like a meteor is headed right for us.

They are unlovable!

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