/an/ — Which animal myths need to die in your opinion? Recently I j

>>5132608 (OP)
Snakes are covered in mucus/slime and slither like a slug.

>>5132650
both of those are true THOUGH

>>5132608 (OP)
Not necessarily a 'myth', but arachnophobia has no place in a civilized world.

Other animal fears are stupid, but arachnophobes are by far the most coddled and insane in their demands and are widely enabled.

>>5132650
I have NEVER heard that one

>>5132650
this is one of those myths where I've heard 100x more people trying to debunk it than actually believe it

Wasps stinging unprovoked
Hornets being aggressive or dangerous
Bees being good for anything but big keeper's pockets

>>5132608 (OP)
sharks being le hecking whoelsome sea pupperinos that just want to be your friend. Talk about awful overcorrection.

File: 20250909_212946.jpg (1.38 MB, 4000x2250)

>>5132608 (OP)
This praying mantis was outside the building entry at work last fall, here she is hanging out with half her boyfriend, mid-coitus with the remainder of her meal. She was pretty fat even before eating him. It might be rare to get a picture like this, but female mantises eating their mates is not rare, it's common.

>>5132608 (OP)
The idea that skunks have these bizarre super farts that they defend themselves with. I don't know how this weird myth became so universally believed, but it's bullshit and skunks are actually very friendly and like being pet by humans, so everyone in this thread should do so if they see one.

>>5132840
I have never heard of this one. You are being a schizo and making up shit to get mad at.
>>5132608 (OP)
This is a minor thing to obsess over. There are shit tons of animal myths that are extremely detrimental to the ecology that you should be more worried about.

Owls being seen as wise when they are actually extremely dumb by bird standards
Lions being noble hunters that need to fight off scavengers, when hyenas are often getting their food stolen by lions instead

>>5132864
I see normies say it online all the time

>>5132608 (OP)
SHOULD HAVE PRAYED
TO THE MANTIS

>>5132608 (OP)
A recent one stating that opossums are prolific consumers of ticks. They'll eat a tick or two if they're in their immediate vicinity, but they don't actively seek them out, nor are they able to put a single dent in their populations.

Also, opossums do not consciously play dead. It's an entirely involuntary response. A reflex.

>>5132840
I'm convinced this one has gotten at least one person killed

>>5132889
Pretty sure I saw a thread yesterday about someone getting their arms bitten by a shark and had to get them amputated, after trying to get a selfie with the shark.

>>5132894
Well well well

>>5132840
most of them are harmless. you're thinking of 3 to 5 species tops that are dangerous.

>>5132864
>You are being a schizo and making up shit to get mad at
He isn’t. I’ve seen people say that sort of thing multiple times

File: Vandellia_cirrhosa_after_a_full_meal_of_blood.jpg (104 KB, 715x267)

>if you bath in the amazon a fish is gonna swim into your peenus weenus!
Just a total myth. The only "case" of this happening is highly dubious, the rest are just hearsay

That wild animals are much more robust than humans. No, they fucking aren’t as robust as media romanticises them. They’re just as fragile as us, suffer from many disorders and even more than we do. The thing is we don’t get to see them because those who get sick quickly die or get eaten. Even chimpanzees who are 1.5x stronger than a human is an easy snack to a leopard without a troop or a wolf with its super senses, teeth, and fur suffer from overheating, parasites, and brutally short lifespan. They don’t thrive in the wild, they just tolerate the shit they endure every single day, yet we blissfully ignore that. And fuck that bunching up all animals into a single group, no, they’re not. Lion doesn’t understand zebra’s feelings, nor they give a fuck about each other. Pet owners perfectly know how fragile can animals be because they’re only perfect in their habitat. A wolf from Saudi Arabia will quickly succumb to colds of Siberia, while Siberian wolf will fry alive under the scorching sun of the Arabia. Just stop romanticising their robustness, because they’re not robust at all, nor human is…

>>5132684
My baby boomer father believes it fully.

>>5132871
Honestly, basically everything that is 'common knowledge' about hyenas is a massive list of misconceptions.

>>5133852
I remember some very funny studies about how Bighorn Sheep (the ones that ram one another with huge running starts) handle the stresses and damage that they do to themselves. And the answer was basically, "lmao they don't".
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9217783/
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0166223623001923