Using Words Recreationally

they/them

[soymoss]

Japanese Giant salamander painting sold to benefit the Shiga Giant Salamander Preservation Society hosted by the Cincinnati Zoo!

[herpsandbirds]

Could I request please, some beautiful Bateleur?

Indeed.

Bateleur Eagle (Terathopius ecaudatus), GETTIN PUFFFY!!!, family Accipitridae, found in much of Sub-Saharan Africa

ENDANGERED.

photograph by Sarina Crous

Albert Beukhof

photographs by Ray Coombes 

 photograph by Johan Wandrag

photograph by Nick Dale

[samfodo]

Help him up wtf!!!!!

[herpsandbirds]

might i request some hamerkop photos? :) if not, any cool sea birds or interestingly colored critters would also be greatly appreciated. thank you !!

YES ONE OF MY FAVORITE BIRDS!!!

Hamerkop (Scopus umbretta), EAT A TASTY FISH!!!, family Scopidae, order Pelicaniformes,found throughout Sub-Saharan Africa

The taxonomic affinities of this bird have been greatly debated over the years, and now is believed to be in the Pelecaniformes.

This is the only bird in this family.

Their closest relative is the Shoebill.

photographs by Ben Knoot, Jacob Flynn, Ian Davies

South Africa - photograph by Wayne Johnson

Ethiopia - photograph by Bob Harvey

photograph by Cason Jollins

[all-mammal-creechur]

African Giant Shrew Crocidura olivieri

It has a wide distribution in sub-Saharan Africa as well as the Nile Valley. This species was first described from mummified specimens, found at Sakkara in Ancient Egyptian tombs. To the ancient Egyptians, the shrew represented the nocturnal side of Horus.

image by Josh and Dani

[vulturevanity]

I think we need to kill the sentiment that people lose their right to personhood once they do something bad enough

[vulturevanity]

I don't know who needs to hear this but you need to stop dehumanising people even if those people are "abusers" or "creeps" because you need to understand that you are not immune to doing something equally as bad

Abusers and creeps are not some species of especially heinous animal or alien or monster wearing the face of a human. They're people. And you NEED to drill it into your head that they are people because you NEED to remember that people are capable of doingn heinous shit. And you are a person. And your loved ones are people.

By emotionally classifying people who have done heinous things as subhuman filth incapable of thinking and feeling and acting just like you and me, and by using that emotional dehumanization as a reason to deny those people any compassion or support on a systemic level, you risk becoming blind to abuse/violence perpetrated by someone close to you or even yourself. Because if "abusers don't deserve rights", then you won't ever want to admit or accept that you or a loved one is perpetrating abuse, and that makes stopping the abuse or preventing further abuse much harder. This is how you end up excuaing abusive behaviour on the grounds that, since you don't see someone as a disgusting subhuman pile of garbage therefore they can't possibly be An Abuser, Trademark

[vulturevanity]

And here'a the even harder pill to swallow: since the world isn't split into "abusers" and "good people", in the same way you or someone you love can inflict abuse/violence on others, the people who HAVE inflicted abuse/violence on others can, in fact, change and become better people

There is no bottomless chasm of moral uncleanliness that someone can run off and fall into and get stuck in forever. People can do better. Yes, even those people. You HAVE to accept this. Otherwise not only is there no motivation for anyone to try and do better (which is when people become stuck in a cycle of violence and abuse they don't want to escape), but your idea of a perfect justice system doesn't look any different from Literal Christian Hell. And I HOPE you understand that Literal Christian Hell is, to put it very lightly, not a good justice system.

[trickedsparrow]

Unchecked and fear-driven dehumanization is the brick foundation for fascism.

[pocket-deer-belly]

i do actually think it's crazy that employers get a say over shit like tattoos and piercings and we just let that happen

[oliviawhen]

Doggust day 13: Perseids 4. ☆₊˚. Catch! Just something silly off the sketches I accumulated over the week. Sleep well! Eat breakfast!

[boccher]

it makes you think how many health conditions which allegedly "only emerge during adulthood" are actually conditions which parents deny medical attention to their kids for

[melodies-stereo]

its insane to me that believing transandrophobia is real isnt seen as like. incredibly embarrassing. because it really is. its fucking humiliating. how ignorant do you really have to be, yknow? and to broadcast that as well?? believing that made-up bullshit is real is a humiliation ritual, and it should be seen as such.

[foone]

Hey boss. Sorry, I'm not gonna make it to standup today, something came up. Yeah, I found the crystal. It was in a cave in the middle of a desert somewhere in Arizona, and as soon as I fell into it I knew what I'd found. The darkness of the stuffy air under the earth suddenly faded as it floated off the ground and everything was lit with a faint yet still somehow still blinding blue light. Yeah, I'm gonna merge with it. I'll be torn apart, but not dying like I was still made of flesh, but more like a caterpillar making a cocoon. After some unknown days or weeks or years merged with the crystal, it'll shatter, the pieces fading into inert quartz, and only I will remain. Not human anymore, but something greater. No, I don't think I'll be able to fix the downloads page while I'm in the crystal, you'll have to reassign that jira ticket to Steven or Ali instead. I'll let you know if when I get out of the crystal, yeah. Yep, I already marked the time off on the shared Google calendar. Thanks, I'll talk to you later. Oh and can you tell Janice I won't be able to make it to the company lunch next Friday? Thanks.

[anxeious]

one thing about me is i’m gonna go lay down

[bunnygirlbree]

30+ year old trans women my beloved

Everyone say thank you 30+ year old trans women

[nessiopeia]

It’s really so important people know that tarantula toes are this pretty

[bas-rouge]

[crabussy]

Why do kiwis have such massive fucking eggs “it’s because they are related to ostriches and-“ yeah ok but like why didn’t they evolve smaller eggs if I was in charge I would do that shit pronto. Thoughts?

their big eggs are actually that size for a similar reason to human babies having massive heads!! being bigger at birth can be important.

kiwi are trying SO HARD to become mammals. fur-like feathers, whisker-like feathers, little beady eyes, nocturnal, great sense of smell.... that's basically a mammal!! they're well suited for life on the forest floor.

their big eggs work alongside these adaptations to give them a leg up in the bird world. their young hatch already feathered! they're precocial, which means they're born with the ability to open their eyes and move around. like foals.

big egg = more powerful offspring from the get-go. babies don't need to spend precious time vulnerable while they develop on the ground when they've already done all that in the egg!

(unfortunately, with the introduction of mammals to aotearoa, these adaptations are a little less useful...)

[nothingimportantanywhere]

Important addition: baby kiwi come out of the egg looking like they've come out of a shower with a hangover

[assortedinsanities]

They look like one of the downsides of emerging from an egg fully formed is how aware you are off just having come out on egg. First minute alive, already dealing with some fucking experience.

[spin-the-wheel-polls]

you were almost turned into a vampire, but before you could be fully turned, the vampire was staked. This left you with a vampire weakness, while still being human.

Spin the wheel to find out your weakness!

How much does this effect you?

Nothing changes

It's inconvenient but I can deal with jty

It will be hard to adjust but I'll figure it out

I don't know if I'll be able to live like this

Maybe I can find another vampire to finish the turning?

I might just kill myself

Results/other

Remaining time: 4 days 11 hours

thanks @theemmjay for submitting this poll idea!! Seriously it's such a cool concept I love it so much