movementmisfit

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🐍 Constriction = Mercy, Not Malice

People assume constrictor snakes “crush” their prey, but that’s a myth. Corn snakes kill quickly by cutting off blood flow, not by smashing bones. It’s efficient, fast, and way more humane than poison or glue traps. Yet, humans demonize natural methods while normalizing cruel alternatives. Let’s rethink what’s truly “monstrous.”

📖 Source: Critter Squad

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🐍 The Eco-Friendly Exterminator

Corn snakes are the ultimate solution to rodent infestations. No toxic traps, no chemicals, no collateral damage to other wildlife. Just nature working as intended. Yet, humans intervene, causing bigger problems. We demonize the creatures that help us while industries profit off artificial “solutions.” See the pattern?

📖 Source: Chattahoochee Nature Center

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🐍 "Corn Snakes Eat Corn" – The Dumbest Lie You’ve Heard Today

Despite their name, corn snakes don’t eat corn. They eat the rats that eat corn. So when people kill them, they’re actually protecting the real pests. Classic case of misdirected blame—just like how society scapegoats the wrong people instead of addressing real problems.

📖 Source: Cosley Zoo

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🐍 Not a Copperhead, Not Your Enemy

One of the biggest reasons corn snakes are killed is mistaken identity. People think they’re venomous copperheads, but here’s the reality: Corn snakes are harmless. The real danger? The destruction of nature’s balance when we eliminate vital predators based on fear and misinformation. Knowledge is power.

📖 Source: Fox Run Environmental Education Center

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🐍 Misunderstood & Essential: The Corn Snake Paradox

Corn snakes are wrongly feared and often killed due to ignorance. But like many “vermin,” they’re vital to the ecosystem. They control rodent populations, reduce disease spread, and prevent crop destruction. Yet, people demonize them because they look dangerous. Sound familiar? Misfits in nature and society often face the same unfair treatment. Let’s change that.

📖 Source: National Zoo

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🎖️ War Heroes with Wings

During WWI and WWII, pigeons played an essential role in saving lives by delivering messages behind enemy lines. Some pigeons even received military honors for their service.

🏅 Famous War Pigeons:

🔹 Cher Ami – Saved nearly 200 American soldiers during WWI by delivering a message under enemy fire. She was shot but still made it home. 🔹 G.I. Joe – Credited with saving over 1,000 British troops in WWII by delivering a message that prevented an accidental bombing. 🔹 Paddy & William of Orange – Helped relay critical D-Day invasion information to Allied forces.

Pigeons were so valuable that the U.S. and British armies had entire pigeon divisions. Without them, countless missions would have failed.

📌 Sources: 🔗 AAV – Pigeons in Warfare

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📜 Pigeons as the OG Messengers

Before smartphones and the internet, pigeons were the fastest way to send messages. Known as homing pigeons, these birds were trained to carry letters across vast distances, returning to their home loft with near-perfect accuracy.

📨 Pigeon Communication Highlights:

✔️ Used in ancient Egypt, Persia, Greece, and Rome for government and military communication. ✔️ Helped establish early postal systems—news of Napoleon’s defeat at Waterloo was first delivered by pigeon! ✔️ Some newspapers, like the Belgian Reuters News Agency, relied on pigeons to deliver stock market updates.

Pigeons weren’t just delivering letters; they were the foundation of long-distance communication.

📌 Sources: 🔗 RPRA – History of Pigeon Communication

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🏙️ How Pigeons Survive in Urban Environments

Pigeons thrive in cities because they’re natural survivors. Originally bred from rock doves that lived in seaside cliffs, pigeons adapted perfectly to city landscapes.

🌆 Pigeon Survival Tactics:

✔️ Buildings = Cliffs – Pigeons roost on skyscrapers like they would on cliffs. ✔️ Year-Round Breeding – Unlike most birds, pigeons can reproduce in all seasons, ensuring their population remains stable. ✔️ Incredible Navigation – Pigeons can find their way home from hundreds of miles away thanks to Earth’s magnetic fields.

Rather than being a sign of urban decay, pigeons represent the resilience of wildlife in human spaces.

📌 Sources: 🔗 Campus Life London – Pigeons as Urban Marvels 🔗 Urban Evolution – Pigeons in Ecological Research

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🐦 The Myth of Pigeons Spreading Disease

A major reason people dislike pigeons is the belief that they spread diseases to humans. But how much of this is actually true?

🚨 Myth: Pigeons Are Disease Carriers

🔹 Studies show pigeons aren’t a major health threat—their disease transmission risk is lower than that of pets like cats or dogs. 🔹 Most illnesses linked to pigeons come from heavily contaminated environments, not casual encounters. 🔹 Pigeons don’t spread rabies—they can’t carry the virus.

Instead of treating pigeons as health hazards, we should see them for what they really are: an integral part of the urban ecosystem.

📌 Sources: 🔗 Birds & Blooms – Pigeon Myths 🔗 OvOControl – Pigeon Facts

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🌿 Pigeons as Eco-Friendly Clean-Up Crews

Pigeons help clean up cities by eating food waste that would otherwise attract rats and other scavengers. Unlike many invasive species, pigeons don’t cause environmental destruction—instead, they fill a niche as natural recyclers.

🗑️ How Pigeons Help Cities:

✔️ Eating discarded food reduces urban waste. ✔️ Spreading plant seeds supports green spaces. ✔️ Providing food for predators like hawks and falcons maintains the food chain.

Rather than harming ecosystems, pigeons adapt to human environments in a way that balances urban wildlife.

📌 Sources: 🔗 OvOControl – Pigeon Facts 🔗 Journal of Urban Ecology

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🐦 Pigeons Are Smarter Than You Think

When we think of intelligent birds, parrots and crows usually come to mind. But pigeons? Most people assume they’re just mindless city dwellers. In reality, pigeons have some of the most impressive cognitive abilities in the avian world.

🧠 Pigeon Intelligence Facts:

🔹 They recognize themselves in mirrors—a test of self-awareness that few animals pass. 🔹 They can differentiate between words and nonsense—even distinguishing English from other languages! 🔹 They have incredible memory—pigeons remember faces and places, which is why they were used as messenger birds in wartime.

Pigeons are so smart that scientists use them in cognitive and behavioral research to better understand learning and pattern recognition.

📌 Sources: 🔗 Birds & Blooms – Pigeon Intelligence

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🏙️ Surviving the Concrete Jungle – How Opossums Thrive in Urban Environments

Opossums were built for the wild, but as cities expand, they’ve adapted to urban environments in some pretty impressive ways.

🌃 How Opossums Survive in Cities:

🗑️ Opportunistic Eaters: Opossums are scavengers, meaning they’ll eat just about anything—discarded food, roadkill, insects, and even small rodents. This helps them survive in areas where natural food sources are scarce.

🏚️ Resourceful Shelter-Seekers: Since urban development destroys natural habitats, opossums have adapted by seeking shelter in: 🔹 Abandoned buildings 🔹 Sewers & drainage pipes 🔹 Under decks, porches, and sheds 🔹 Piles of brush or debris

🚧 Masters of Avoidance: Despite living alongside humans, opossums are low-key and non-aggressive—they avoid confrontation and rely on their classic defense mechanisms: ⚡ Playing dead to avoid predators. ⚡ Bluffing by hissing or drooling to appear more dangerous than they are.

🚗 The Biggest Urban Threats to Opossums:

❌ Cars – Many opossums get hit by vehicles while scavenging at night. ❌ Traps & Poison – Homeowners often mistake them for pests and use lethal methods to remove them. ❌ Habitat Loss – As green spaces disappear, opossums have fewer places to hide and forage.

🐾 How You Can Help:

✔️ Drive carefully at night. Opossums are nocturnal and might be crossing the road. ✔️ Seal trash bins & remove food waste to discourage them from dangerous scavenging. ✔️ Don’t use poison or traps. If an opossum is in your yard, it’s just passing through. ✔️ Provide safe hiding spots. Leaving brush piles or creating wildlife-friendly gardens can help.

🐾 Why It Matters:

Opossums aren’t pests—they’re part of the ecosystem. By coexisting with them instead of fearing them, we allow nature to work as intended—even in the middle of the city.

📌 Sources: 🔗 Champions for Wildlife – Opossum Facts 🔗 FurBearer Conservation – The Opossum: Benefits & Misconceptions

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��� Do Opossums Carry Rabies? Why The Fear Is Misplaced

Let’s get this straight: Opossums almost never carry rabies.

🦠 Why Are They So Unlikely to Get It?

🔬 Their low body temperature (94-97°F) makes it nearly impossible for the rabies virus to survive. 🔬 They rarely bite, preferring to bluff, drool, or play dead when scared. 🔬 Even when exposed, they seem to have a natural resistance.

❌ But People Still Kill Them Out of Fear

🚫 Opossums are often unnecessarily trapped or killed by people who think they’re dangerous. 🚫 They pose almost zero threat to humans—you’re far more likely to get rabies from a dog, cat, or raccoon.

🐾 Why It Matters:

Misinformation leads to unnecessary fear and harm. Opossums aren’t the disease-ridden monsters people make them out to be. They’re just weird little guys trying to survive.

📌 Sources: 🔗 Champions for Wildlife – Opossum Facts 🔗 World Animal Protection – 12 Facts About Opossums

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😵 Why Opossums Play Dead (And Why It’s Not a Choice)

Most animals run or fight when faced with danger. Opossums? They pass out like they just got hit with a shutdown button.

😴 What Is “Playing Dead”?

When threatened, opossums enter an involuntary catatonic state where they: 💀 Go limp. 💀 Let their tongue hang out. 💀 Slow their breathing. 💀 Release a foul-smelling fluid (to mimic the smell of decay).

😱 Here’s the Wild Part…

⚡ This isn’t something they control—it’s an involuntary reflex, like fainting. ⚡ They can stay “dead” for minutes to hours before slowly waking up. ⚡ The only thing that revives them? Time.

🐾 Why It Matters:

Many opossums are mistaken for actual corpses and either disposed of or hit by cars. If you see an opossum on the road, wait before assuming it’s dead—it might just wake up and walk away.

📌 Sources: 🔗 FurBearer Conservation – The Opossum: Benefits & Misconceptions

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🗑️ The Ultimate Clean-Up Crew – Why Opossums Are Vital to Ecosystems

Opossums are nature’s janitors—they eat the things no one else wants to deal with. And in doing so, they keep the environment clean and disease-free.

🦠 What Do Opossums Eat?

✅ Rotting fruit & decaying plants (prevents mold & bacteria buildup). ✅ Carrion (dead animals) (reduces disease spread). ✅ Venomous snakes (they’re immune to pit viper venom). ✅ Insects & small pests (including roaches, mice, and even some ticks).

🛑 Disease Prevention: Opossums vs. Rabies & Parasites

Despite their creepy reputation, opossums are actually less likely to carry rabies than most mammals. Why? 🔬 Their low body temperature makes it difficult for the rabies virus to survive. 🦠 They consume parasites that would otherwise infect other animals.

🐾 Why It Matters:

If opossums weren’t around, we’d have more pests, more disease, and more rotting corpses in our ecosystems. They might not be cute to everyone, but they’re absolutely necessary.

📌 Sources: 🔗 FurBearer Conservation – The Opossum: Benefits & Misconceptions 🔗 Champions for Wildlife – Opossum Facts

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Do Opossums REALLY Eat Ticks?

You’ve probably heard the claim that opossums eat 5,000 ticks a season—but is that actually true? The answer is complicated.

✔️ What’s True:

🦠 Opossums are fastidious groomers—they spend a lot of time licking and cleaning their fur, much like cats. 🦠 If they find a tick while grooming, they’ll eat it rather than let it stay attached. 🦠 They consume some ticks this way, but there’s no evidence that they actively hunt them.

❌ What’s False:

🚫 The 5,000 ticks per season claim comes from a single lab study where opossums were artificially exposed to ticks in a controlled setting. 🚫 In the wild, opossums don’t necessarily encounter that many ticks, and they aren’t a significant factor in controlling tick populations.

🐾 Why It Matters:

Misinformation spreads fast. While opossums have plenty of benefits, exaggerating their role in tick control can lead to unrealistic expectations—and even conservation policies based on

📌 Sources: 🔗 Wildlife Illinois – Debunking the Myth: Opossums Don’t Eat Ticks 🔗 Mosquito Squad – The Tick-Eating Power of the Opossum

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✊ Protest Smart, Protest Safe

(Because a movement is only as strong as its people.)

Protesting is a powerful tool—but preparation is everything. Know how to protect yourself and your fellow misfits.

🛠️ Before You Go:

🔸 Know your rights – The law isn’t always on our side, but knowing it gives you an edge. 🔸 Dress for safety – Cover tattoos, wear neutral clothing, and avoid anything that can be grabbed. 🔸 Bring essentials – Water, snacks, a first-aid kit, ID (or not, if that’s safer), and emergency contacts written down. 🔸 Use encrypted communication – Signal over SMS. Turn off face/fingerprint unlock on your phone.

🚨 In the Moment:

⚡ Stay aware – Know exit routes, look out for agitators, and stick with a buddy. ⚡ If confronted by police – Stay calm, record everything, and ask, “Am I being detained?” ⚡ If tear gas is deployed – Don’t rub your eyes. Use a bandana soaked in water or vinegar to protect your breathing. ⚡ Never protest alone – The system isolates to control. Move together, watch each other’s backs.

📚 More tips from the HRC: Read here