Science Memes @mander.xyz fossilesque @mander.xyz 7 mo. ago

ah, conservation

41 comments

Conservationists: Oh boy, here I go killing again!
- To be fair that's a very important part
  
  Up until people start asking how you tell the endangered owls from the invasive owls while holding two dead owls
  
  Yeah. Actual conservationists tend to be pretty good shots.
"Conserve this."

Gunshot
Are they an invasive species?
- Unfortunately so. They are an Eastern US species that has been moving ever westward. And they are, in bird law terms, 'huge dicks'. They've been systematically kicking Spotted Owls out of their traditional roosting spots for about a decade now. Spotted Owls are pushovers, so they've been losing breeding ground. And barred owls are not just dicks to other birds, they don't like humans much either.
  
  Have we considered that that's their secret to success?
  
  Were they introduced to the west by humans? If this migration is occurring without human intervention this is just evolution doing its thing.
  
  I've never had a lick of problem with the barred owls. The northern spotted owls look rather similar really. They also interbreed.
  
  I hate this owl murdering nonsense. Why are we funding this?
- They only lived east of the Great Plains until we started building cities and planting trees, as they need high, safe perches for nesting and sleeping. When humans created that for them, they expanded westward all the way to California and started competing with (and killing) other species of owl.
  
  So, yes.
So there’s barn owls and barred owls? Who is coming up with these names?
- Scientists have a long seemingly treasured history of trolling everything with their naming of stuff. Not a scientist, so I can't confirm. But from the outside it sure looks like they have a lot of fun with it.
Something something something. The
ITT: the difference between conservationists and "conservationists"
Owl is back on the menu boys!

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