Animal Stereotypes That You Hate

[Jurek7]

Animals in the wild live happy lives

- Not, they usually live short, painful lives and end up eaten by something else. They also generally compete harshly with others of the same species. People know that homeless dogs and cats are not happy, but think that a wild animal lives somehow happier.

Elephants are gentle

- Not, they are very physical and regularly push and hit each other with force sufficient to squash a human or wreck a car. Females, too, maintain a strict hierarchy.

Bottlenose dolphins are peaceful and friendly

Not only they are obligate predators, but they fight each other. They also use fish as live toys and kill porpoises just as competitors. Clever and sociable they are, but more like pack predators. But a dolphin mouth is shaped like a human smile, they have no facial mimics, and few people have any contact with dolphins, so basically people can believe anything.

 

[Onychorhynchus coronatus]

Animals in the wild live happy lives

- Not, they usually live short, painful lives and end up eaten by something else. They also generally compete harshly with others of the same species. People know that homeless dogs and cats are not happy, but think that a wild animal lives somehow happier.

Elephants are gentle

- Not, they are very physical and regularly push and hit each other with force sufficient to squash a human or wreck a car. Females, too, maintain a strict hierarchy.

Bottlenose dolphins are peaceful and friendly

Not only they are obligate predators, but they fight each other. They also use fish as live toys and kill porpoises just as competitors. Clever and sociable they are, but more like pack predators. But a dolphin mouth is shaped like a human smile, they have no facial mimics, and few people have any contact with dolphins, so basically people can believe anything.

If I'm not mistaken I think there have also been cases of dolphins severely injuring and perhaps even killing people too (not 100% sure).

 

[Westcoastperson]

If I'm not mistaken I think there have also been cases of dolphins severely injuring and perhaps even killing people too (not 100% sure).

Yes, in captivity they have killed people and in the wild are known to kill practically everything.

 

[Haliaeetus]

It isn't linked with wild animals, but a lot of people believe that cats drink milk, this stereotype is very frequent in the cartoons, child stories...
In fact, every cat owner knows that adult cats become sick when they drink milk.

 

[Westcoastperson]

It isn't linked with wild animals, but a lot of people believe that cats drink milk, this stereotype is very frequent in the cartoons, child stories...
In fact, every cat owner knows that adult cats become sick when they drink milk.

Most adult animals become sick when they drink milk because lactose tolerance is a genetic mutation in humans that allows us to drink milk in adulthood.

 

[Pertinax]

Gorillas are 'gentle giants'. Well, they can be a lot of the time but anyone who has seen the wounds they can inflict on each or the incoming male to a group that kills another male's offspring if he can, might refute it as a blanket statement. In zoos at least, Silverbacks are also usually pigs over food and don't share with the family. So its not all peace and love in gorilla society really.

 

[TheChukaulorian]

Gorillas are 'gentle giants'. Well, they can be a lot of the time but anyone who has seen the wounds they can inflict on each or the incoming male to a group that kills another male's offspring if he can, might refute it as a blanket statement. In zoos at least, Silverbacks are also usually pigs over food and don't share with the family. So its not all peace and love in gorilla society really.

Honestly, inaccurate as it is, I prefer the archetype of the gentle gorilla rather than the classical meat-eating rampaging monster that pounds its chest with fists closed.

 

[Onychorhynchus coronatus]

Honestly, inaccurate as it is, I prefer the archetype of the gentle gorilla rather than the classical meat-eating rampaging monster that pounds its chest with fists closed.

I do too, some of the old victorian bull **** "accounts" of gorillas make for completely bizarre reading now considering that for so many decades after their "discovery" these great apes were seen as serial killers / rapists.

Gorillas are 'gentle giants'. Well, they can be a lot of the time but anyone who has seen the wounds they can inflict on each or the incoming male to a group that kills another male's offspring if he can, might refute it as a blanket statement. In zoos at least, Silverbacks are also usually pigs over food and don't share with the family. So its not all peace and love in gorilla society really.

Not as gentle as the myth then but still a lot more so and more likeable than chimpanzees.

 

[ChIkEn NuGrEt]

There should be a duo of dolphin and chimpanzee-based supervillains that trick people due to their status as being friendly, gentle animals.

 

[Jurek7]

That hatching birds (or other animals) burst out of an egg immediately.

Hatching of a bird takes many hours to two days. The chick, which is tightly packed inside the egg, makes a line of holes in the shell along the perimeter, and slowly stretches itself, breaking off the thick end of the egg. Reptiles hatch a bit differently, but still slowly.

That birds hatch as miniature adults, with adult colors and able to fly.

No, all but few bird species hatch as chicks. Some are naked and helpless, others are downy and running but without feathers and unable to fly.

 

[FBBird]

There should be a duo of dolphin and chimpanzee-based supervillains that trick people due to their status as being friendly, gentle animals.

Possibly with a penguin as third villain. Bitey little bastards

 

[ChIkEn NuGrEt]

Possibly with a penguin as third villain. Bitey little bastards

I believe every interaction I’ve had with you this far was related to this.

 

[CheeseChameleon1945]

Got a couple here:

All wild cats growl and are fierce hunters that can attack anything and all domestic cat's are fat and lazy. I mean it's somewhat true (the second one) but definitely not entirely true.

Similarly, Domestic dogs are man's best friend and would never hurt a fly.

Pheasant/grouse/Quail are all the exact same thing.

Watching birds is for senior citizens.

Finally, this one doesn't deal with animals, but. . .
Mexico is practically all desert, and Russia is always a snowy tundra that is all mountains.

 

[Dhole dude]

Russia is all snowy tundra that is all mountains.

Well, most of it is .

 

[ParathePineapple]

The myth that Chameleons change color to camouflage. This is simply not true chameleons along with many other species of lizards will change their color depending on their mood, it is just most noticeable on chameleons.

 

[CheeseChameleon1945]

Well, most of it is .

I mean constantly. Like it's constantly winter there. Which isn't true at all.

 

[Bengal Tiger]

This isn't an animal stereotype too much but: all of Asia is a jungle. Like people acknowledge snow leopards and Siberia and Mongolia exist but none seem to put together that a large amount of the Asian continent is savannah or desert or tundra or mountains. Also putting Amur leopards and Amur Tigers in jungle exhibits doesn't help at all.

I can say that a certain part of Asia (India) is a whole lot more human settlement than nature of any sort.

A couple of my examples:

Pit-bulls are “bad” dogs. They’re not, they are just prone to having issues if not cared for properly.

Rats and mice are disgusting and horrible vermin. Untrue, rats wash themselves more than people.

Rad and mice love cheese. It gives them diarrhea.

Lemmings commit suicide in large numbers. Despite the fact that I find some of these jokes funny, it is still a dumb stereotype.

It has been stated, but I would like tor either are the facts that venom and poison are NOT THE SAME. That one really gets me.

 

[Zoofan15]

Monarch butterflies:

That Monarch butterflies can fly immediately after emerging from the chrysalis. Both Malcolm in the Middle and The Simpsons feature episodes where somebody is rearing a large number of Monarch butterflies that all hatch simultaneously (also inaccurate) and immediately take flight.

The Simpsons added further insult to injury by having them hatch at night. Monarch butterflies always hatch during the day, so the sun can dry out their wings (which are initially wet and crumpled from being inside the chrysalis). This process takes around three hours.

 

[Mr.Ivory]

That Lions are noble, Tigers are cowardly, Lion society is patriarchal, and the one that enrages me the most Elephants love peanuts

 

[IndianRhino]

Rats and mice are disgusting and horrible vermin. Untrue, rats wash themselves more than people.

I mean they are responsible for (or atleast contributed to) the spread of a number of diseases so I definitely wouldn’t say they are super clean or anything. I don’t think they are terrible but I wont exactly disagree with those that do.

Tigers are cowardly

I don’t think this one is all that common. I’ve heard it in the past but not that often.

the one that enrages me the most Elephants love peanuts

Why does it enrage you? Yes, elephants don’t really have a preference for peanuts and a lot of people think that they do but it’s nothing to get all mad about. That’s a little dramatic if you ask me

Anyway, I’ll add a couple to the list…
- Koalas and pandas are super cuddly and gentle.
- Solitary animals living at zoos are lonely and sad.
- Cheetahs and mountain lions are big cats.