Animal Stereotypes That You Hate

GreatApe said:
Sorry if this is a stupid question, but are Southern Hemisphere "Magpies" corvids, like the Northern Hemisphere ones?

As a corvid fan, I'm saddened that the crows local to my workplace mob call me; this was my own stupid fault for unthinkingly carrying a fledgling that had invaded the building back out to the nest site in full sight rather than hidden in a box. The parent pair mobbed and "dive bombed" me, (with other locals joining in the chorus), and now I get "scolded" whenever I'm visible. Although the swooping was scary, they only once made "contact", (claws, perhaps?)

Amusingly an ex colleague who looked similar to me was also included in the scolding, even though he was "innocent"!
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Not a stupid question at all! I had assumed for the longest time that the Australian Magpie must be a corvid, they look so crowlike if you ignore the white markings, and are similar in behaviour and intelligence. But corvids they are not - they are placed in the family Artamidae, along with the (also crow-like) butcherbirds and currawongs, as well as woodswallows and peltops.

It's worth noting that the aforementioned woodswallows are not swallows either, but are an unrelated group that earned it's name due to the similar insect-catching habits as swallows (although woodswallows will also consume nectar - something I've never heard of swallows doing!)
 
Much more specific, but one thing that really irks me about the
Redwall series is how the “vermin” (rats, weasels, stoats, and foxes, etc.) are always portrayed as loving nothing more than to plunder and murder… even though they never show any indication of wanting to eat the similarly sentient protagonists! It would be one thing if they knew that the woodlanders were sentient and kept killing and eating them, but the vast majority of the vermin just seem to be raging jerks who are born pirates, thieves, mercenaries, etc. with little or no moral grey area. Inversely the “Woodlanders” (mice, rabbits, squirrels, moles, and oddly enough, otters and badgers) are 9 times out of 10 heroic and friendly, while the vermin are cowardly and wicked with little to no reasoning or background lore to why they behave the way they do.
 
filovirus said:
This may be a bit too specific, but there's this weird stereotype in the horse world that mares, particularly chestnut mares, are meaner/harder to work with/more stubborn/etc. It bothers me to no end... feels like a weird extension of misogyny onto horses.
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I've seen a similar sentiment online for male vs female cats, with female cats seen as 'less affectionate'. I doubt that's true...
 
DaLilFishie said:
I've seen a similar sentiment online for male vs female cats, with female cats seen as 'less affectionate'. I doubt that's true...
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For “fixed” cats, I can se where they’re coming from. I currently have there cats, two females and one male, and after I got them all spayed/neutered, the male, Forrest, became much more friendly, while the two females, Axle and Claudia, became more aloof and independent. This might just be anecdotal, but my male kitties have historically been a bit more affectionate save a few.
 
The_Leopard_Seal said:
I also find it funny that people think that Australia has the most dangerous wildlife when India exists. There are hardly any megafaunal species in Australia while India has elephants, tigers, rhinos, lions, wolves, leopards, bears, hyenas and crocodiles in addition to venomous snakes.
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As an australian, I would fear for my life far more walking through a forest in North America far more than almost anywhere in Australia. I'd much rather take my chances with an Eastern Brown Snake than a Brown Bear :D
 
DaLilFishie said:
As an australian, I would fear for my life far more walking through a forest in North America far more than almost anywhere in Australia. I'd much rather take my chances with an Eastern Brown Snake than a Brown Bear :D
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Walking in Alabama’s woodlands, the scariest thing one could encounter would most likely be a territorial squirrel! Then again, I’d only have to imagine what the state looked like when most of its megafauna weren’t extirpated.
 
The_Leopard_Seal said:
A lot of people seem to think that gazelles and other antelopes are deer or are in the same family as deer.
EDIT: Clarified myself.
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I don't know if it's a Spanish thing... But some people call anything remotely deer-like "Bambi". Like, they'll see some impalas or Dorcas gazelles and they're like "Look at da BAMBEES!" Ughh it drives me nuts! Always has!
 
JigerofLemuria said:
I don't know if it's a Spanish thing... But some people call anything remotely deer-like "Bambi". Like, they'll see some impalas or Dorcas gazelles and they're like "Look at da BAMBEES!" Ughh it drives me nuts! Always has!
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I’ve heard ‘Bambi’ a few times in New Zealand, but mostly from people aged 50 years plus.

Millennials and Gen Z call every clownfish ‘Nemo’; every Ring-tailed lemur ‘King Julien’ (sometimes coupled with singing the accompanying song); and every male lion ‘Simba’, ‘Mufasa’ or ‘Alex’.

Pop culture references are more enduring than fads like Pesto (penguin) and Moo Deng (Pygmy hippopotamus), which captured everyone’s imaginations for a matter of weeks/months, then disappeared off the face of the earth.
 
Zoofan15 said:
Pop culture references are more enduring than fads like Pesto (penguin) and Moo Deng (Pygmy hippopotamus), which captured everyone’s imaginations for a matter of weeks/months, then disappeared off the face of the earth.
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Yes, most young animals grow very fast-like Hippos, rhinos etc- and quickly outlive the appearance that made them temporary internet 'stars' or whatever. In the days long before the internet there were still temporary 'crazes' over certain baby animals, like 'Brumas' the baby polar bear born at London Zoo in (I think it was) 1949. Adoring crowds visited to see her as a cub, she featured in newspapers etc but within a few months her mass popularity faded though as she began to aquire the proportions of an adult bear.

One interesting reference that seems to buck the trend and has percolated down the generations, to some extent anyway, is the famous gorilla 'Guy' who lived at London Zoo. His was a household name back in the 1950-70's era, right up to his death in 1978 and afterwards. But even today I still occassionally hear people(of all ages surprisingly) at a Gorilla exhibit, say 'oh look, 'Guy the gorilla' probably with no idea where they got it from though perhaps parents/grandparents relate memories of him still...
 
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Zoofan15 said:
Millennials…call every clownfish ‘Nemo’; every Ring-tailed lemur ‘King Julien’ (sometimes coupled with singing the accompanying song); and every male lion ‘Simba’, ‘Mufasa’ or ‘Alex’.
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Considering your profile picture, does that include yourself?
 
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