NZ bat for bird of the year: "it acts more like a bird than most of our actual birds"! Is this the best trolling ever?!

[aweegc]

Just heard this on the BBC and checked the papers, it appears to be real!

"The announcement caused some consternation among New Zealanders online. “A mammal is hi-jacking the BIRD of the year competition. We want to be inclusive, but …,” commented the NZ Science Learning Hub.
“I love bats, but bats are not birds,” one Twitter user. “It’s adorable. But not a bird,” another said.
Others supported the candidacy. “Who can be mad at a bat running for NZ bird of the year when it acts more like a bird than most of our actual birds? Our only mammals think they are birds. Our birds think they are burrowing mammals,” said one person on Twitter."

www.theguardian.com/world/2021/oct/11/consternation-in-new-zealand-as-native-bat-included-in-bird-of-the-year-poll

Is this in fact the best trolling ever? I hope so!

Cats are not rude. They are simply superior to us, and well they know it.

@Melroses

I had no idea tortoises were so irritating 🤷‍♀️

We stayed a holiday villa somewhere hot with shagging tortoises in the garden. I would have cheerfully eaten the randiest male one to give the girls a break. He was like the Terminator.

And the RC Church said Barnacle Geese came from barnacles and so were fish

What does the RC church have to say about the fact that there's no such thing as a fish?

What a funny thread just what I needed after today.

This thread is absolutely brilliant.

I loved it on R4 when the woman was talking about this. I definitely got the impression she knew what she was going and it was a massive piss take, but even if not it has the same effect. 🦇

We stayed a holiday villa somewhere hot with shagging tortoises in the garden. I would have cheerfully eaten the randiest male one to give the girls a break. He was like the Terminator.

I know someone who bought 2 female tortoises, but when they grew, it turned out they had a male and female. Much shell crashing. None stop. I hadn't realised they did that.

So yes, I have changed my mind, they are irritating.

@Pinkfairylights

A tortoise once chased me across a friend's garden. Horrible little sod.

I once got drunk and got chased by an angry swan.

And yappy dogs, which are the worst when it comes to bad manners.

There's generally not enough meat on yappy dogs to make them worth eating.

if meat yield/annoyingness ratio is the main factor maybe we should all be investing in hippopotamus farms?

You volunteering to tell the hippos that?

Most dangerous animal in Africa, the hippo. (Apart from the mosquito)
Kills more than lions, leopards, hyenas or crocodiles.

Even crocs stay clear of hippos (unless they're dead.) Don't get to live on Earth for over 300 million years without knowing what to avoid.

@Jaysmith71

Most dangerous animal in Africa, the hippo. (Apart from the mosquito) Kills more than lions, leopards, hyenas or crocodiles.

Even crocs stay clear of hippos (unless they're dead.) Don't get to live on Earth for over 300 million years without knowing what to avoid.

Really? Most parts of the world the most dangerous creature is Homo sapiens, in particular the male of the species. Maybe mosquitos are in contention but I doubt hippos are.

Fun fact - Much like the capybara, the female mosquito is larger than the male.

Oh, they mean indigenous. That's a bit anti immigrant. Tut tut.

But did bats evolve in NZ? Surely they flew there from somewhere else?

if meat yield/annoyingness ratio is the main factor maybe we should all be investing in hippopotamus farms?

For meat to annoyingness ratio, surely we should all be eating vegans and cold callers?

Even crocs stay clear of hippos

Freshwater crocodile is nice, similar to pork. Alligator is surprisingly rubbish by comparison.

Mmm, canibalism is surprisingly often overlooked when considering alternative protein sources

@AlfonsoTheDinosaur

And yappy dogs, which are the worst when it comes to bad manners.

There's generally not enough meat on yappy dogs to make them worth eating.

You could stew them. I've stewed squirrels and they are a lot smaller than a yap-dog.

But did bats evolve in NZ? Surely they flew there from somewhere else?

Presumably those particular bats evolved there.

No-one is quite certain on the origin of the first bats but it's probably North America.

Mmm, canibalism is surprisingly often overlooked when considering alternative protein sources

With the added bonus that you can get the person to self identify as delicious before cooking, to improve their flavour.

@donquixotedelamancha

But did bats evolve in NZ? Surely they flew there from somewhere else?

Presumably those particular bats evolved there.

No-one is quite certain on the origin of the first bats but it's probably North America.

Is that what makes something indigenous? If it evolves into a new species? Wouldn't that mean everything would be indigenous given enough time?

Ancestors flew there from Australia, like all the non-aquatic NZ birds.

Indiginous generally means not introduced by humans, but if introduced long enough agom thousands of years, you can also qualify, like Rabbits in GB and dingos in Australia.

@AlfonsoTheDinosaur

And yappy dogs, which are the worst when it comes to bad manners.

There's generally not enough meat on yappy dogs to make them worth eating.

True.

@AlfonsoTheDinosaur

And yappy dogs, which are the worst when it comes to bad manners.

There's generally not enough meat on yappy dogs to make them worth eating.

This is what my yappy dog tells me when I threaten to stew him.

Is that what makes something indigenous? If it evolves into a new species?

Yes.

Wouldn't that mean everything would be indigenous given enough time?

Evolution takes a looong time but (if the ecological niche remains geographically isolated from the rest of the species) yes.