Filed Under: Ominous

In fact, the creature you'll find suddenly walking beside you and acting as if they've always been there is almost certainly a juvenile, as the adults lose the ability when they reach reproductive age.

Recent studies suggest the forest mimic is less like a preying mantis (mimicry as a hunting strategy) and more like a cuckoo (mimicry as a protective strategy for their young). Adult forest mimics will leave their offspring near a group of hikers while they forage during the day, and retrieve them near trailheads in the evening. Groups of hikers provide safety from predators and allow the parents of the species the freedom to forage more widely.

For this reason, the traditional advice to never let a mimic into your vehicle is still very important, as this would separate the young mimic from its mother. If a juvenile forest mimic does follow your group to the parking lot, you can keep it entertained with trail snacks, dad jokes, and simple goofs. The mother will usually collect them shortly before sunset.

But the best part—the BEST PART— about it is they DONT do it in a coy way like “you are so cool 🥺🥺🥺 and amazing 🤩🤩🤩 and fascinating with your power but…! Alas…! 😔😔😔 God’s coolest soldiers must bear the burden of using power responsibly…! You must in fact bear the great burden and be the coolest and specialist protagonist of the world silently…!”

Blue text on a white background reading "Trans women are my sisters".

Red text on a yellow background reading "Transsexual menace".

Red text on a white background reading "I transitioned and all I got was this lousy badge".

Black text on a red background reading "Lucifer Ghosts Bats Transsexuals", next to a black crescent moon.

Blue text on a white background reading "Transitioning saves lives".

White text on a black background reading "Self made woman", along with the trans symbol with the cicle changed into a heart.

Pink text on a blue background reading "My sex change made me hot!"

Yellow text on a pink background reading "Trans bodies are holy".

White text on a blue background reading "Iced coffee and HRT".

The same as pin 6, except the text reads "Self made man".

Pink text on a light purple background. The text has the two phrases "Trans men love" and "Gay men love" arranged in a circle so that they lead onto each other.

Light blue text on a dark blue background reading simply "T4T", with the same trans heart symbol from badges 6 and 10.

Being supportive of trans people and involving us in research about our medical care legitimately has the ability to revolutionize our ability to study human biology, specifically in terms of hormones, cell biology, genetics, neuroscience, and nature vs. nurture - all of which are fields we are just only barely beginning to understand!!!

But nooooooo, that would be too easy and useful and potentially medically revolutionary

Not to mention, you know. Letting us revolutionize medical care for trans and nonbinary people in the process

"We have an incredibly shallow understanding of how hormones interact with the brain and body, in large part because it's so impossible to isolate them from every other possible factor"

GEE, SUCH A SHAME there aren't literally thousands of people would leap at the chance to help you start researching that-- oh, wait--

I feel a bit like that "Climate scientists remind world clean energy tech ready to go whenever" comic

"Trans people remind scientists about a ton of cool, revolutionary medical research ready to start literally whenever"

You've been struck by a

If I wanted to colonise New York or Montreal with an introduced European species, causing havoc and confusion and environmental damage - this is sort of a mad scientist look at the topic, you understand - I think I might go for the Woodpigeon.

Large, foolish, heavy and warm, with such plump downy bodies that they survive cold really well, they’re a nice addition to the soundscape with their HOOOhooohoooHOOOOOO. They cause loads of damage to crops, which will be funny. They have cartoon eyes. They’re too big for most cats to take on. They can colonise the same places as the feral pigeon, and feral pigeons do really well in NYC and Montreal.

My second choice would be the Red Kite, successfully reintroduced in the UK after its near-extinction, partly caused by the belief that they kill lambs.

They’re a large bird of prey, bigger than a hawk and smaller than an eagle, with all of that hawkish charisma - but they’re actually scavengers at heart, and eat all sorts of things. They will swoop and take a burger right out of your hand, which I think is a really good species to introduce to NYC. I think they’d love it.

but l'd worry the wood pigeons would specifically push out our mourning doves-which sound lovely hooooO00. hoo hoo'hoo .... but are dumb as rocks. Nowhere near as clever as some of their relatives.

But! ☝️in fairness and in return for the kites, I would give you a very beautiful corvid. They love to frequent feeders where they aren't always polite, make lots of noise both raucous and intriguing, are quite territorial, mob other birds and occasionally people and are generally as annoying as they are pretty. Their range encompasses about 3/4 of the us plus the lower part of Canada, so I expect they'd do just fine.

Woe, Blue Jay be upon thee!

If we are getting to do true mad-scientist things, and frankly I think I deserve to, I think I’m going to put in a specific request. In exchange for any bird of the UK you like, I would like some hummingbirds. Ruby-throated, for preference. They can overwinter at my house.