We often hear tales about wildlife that, while captivating, are far from accurate. These myths have been passed down through generations, shaping our perceptions and interactions with the natural world. However, many of these beliefs are based on misunderstandings or outdated information. Let’s debunk some of these common myths and set the record straight.
1. Bats Are Blind
You’ve probably heard the saying “blind as a bat,” suggesting that these nocturnal creatures can’t see. However, this couldn’t be further from the truth. Bats have functional eyes, and many species also possess excellent night vision. Their ability to navigate in the dark is primarily due to echolocation—a sophisticated biological sonar system. This doesn’t mean they’re blind; their vision complements their echolocation abilities. According to the National Wildlife Federation, most bats have a very poor sense of smell. If a nestling has fallen and you can reach the nest easily, it’s fine to put the baby back in.
It’s fascinating to note that not all bats rely on echolocation. Fruit bats, for instance, depend more on their keen eyesight and sense of smell to find food. The myth likely stems from their nocturnal habits and the misconception that navigating in darkness equates to blindness. In reality, bats are equipped with sensory tools that make them adept hunters of the night. So, the next time someone mentions being “blind as a bat,” you can share that these creatures see quite well, especially when paired with their other remarkable senses.
2. Touching Baby Birds Will Make Their Mothers Reject Them
Many of us grew up hearing that if you touch a baby bird, its mother will abandon it due to the human scent. This belief has discouraged countless well-meaning individuals from assisting fallen nestlings. However, this is a myth. Most birds have a limited sense of smell and rely more on sight and sound to identify their offspring. Therefore, they are unlikely to detect human scent on their chicks. The National Wildlife Federation clarifies that it’s usually best not to disturb wildlife, but this reasoning is hogwash.
If you come across a baby bird that has fallen from its nest and appears unharmed, it’s perfectly acceptable to place it back. Ensure the nest is within reach and the chick is not injured. By doing so, you’re giving the young bird a better chance of survival. Remember, the parents are often nearby and will continue to care for their young once the immediate threat has passed. So, don’t hesitate to lend a helping hand when necessary; you’re not causing harm by doing so.
3. Ostriches Bury Their Heads in the Sand
The image of an ostrich burying its head in the sand at the first sign of danger is a pervasive one. This behavior is often cited as a metaphor for avoidance or denial. However, ostriches don’t actually do this. When threatened, they have a range of responses, including running at impressive speeds or lying low to blend into the terrain. The myth may have originated from observations of ostriches lowering their heads to the ground, which can give the illusion of burying them. National Geographic Kids debunks this by stating that ostriches do not stick their heads in the sand when they’re scared or threatened.
In reality, ostriches are quite vigilant creatures. Their long necks and keen eyesight allow them to spot predators from a distance. When they sense danger, they often lie flat on the ground with their necks stretched out, making them less visible. This behavior, combined with their practice of turning eggs in the nest using their beaks, might have contributed to the misconception. So, while the idea of an ostrich hiding its head in the sand is evocative, it’s not grounded in their actual behavior.
4. Touching Frogs or Toads Causes Warts
Many of us have been cautioned against handling frogs and toads with the warning that their skin can cause warts. This belief likely arises from the bumpy, wart-like appearance of some toads. However, warts in humans are caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV), not by contact with amphibians. Frogs and toads secrete substances through their skin, but these secretions don’t lead to wart formation in humans. List Caboodle clarifies that it is not true that touching frogs and toads can give you warts.
While handling these creatures won’t give you warts, it’s still essential to exercise caution. Some amphibians produce toxins as a defense mechanism, which can cause skin irritation or other reactions in humans. It’s always a good practice to wash your hands thoroughly after handling any wild animal. Moreover, amphibians have permeable skin and can absorb substances from our hands, so minimizing direct contact is beneficial for their health as well. In summary, while the wart-causing myth is unfounded, respectful and minimal handling is best for both humans and amphibians.
5. Goldfish Have a Three-Second Memory
The belief that goldfish can only remember things for three seconds has been widely accepted and often used to illustrate short attention spans. However, research has shown that goldfish possess much longer memory spans. They can remember information for weeks, and even months, and are capable of learning and recalling various tasks. Studies have demonstrated that goldfish can be trained to respond to certain cues, indicating a level of cognitive function that contradicts the short-memory myth.
In controlled experiments, goldfish have been taught to navigate mazes, recognize different shapes and colors, and even associate specific sounds with feeding times. This ability to learn and retain information suggests that goldfish are more intelligent than commonly believed. The misconception may have arisen from underestimating the cognitive abilities of fish in general. So, the next time you observe a goldfish swimming in its tank, remember that there’s more going on in that tiny brain than meets the eye.
6. Bulls Charge at the Color Red
The image of a bull charging at a matador’s red cape is iconic in bullfighting lore. This has led to the widespread belief that the color red incites anger in bulls, prompting them to charge. In reality, bulls are colorblind to red and green hues; it’s the movement of the cape that provokes them. The red color is chosen for its dramatic effect and to mask any bloodstains during the performance.
Bulls, like many other animals, are more responsive to motion than to specific colors. The waving of the cape captures their attention and triggers their natural instinct to charge. This myth has been perpetuated by cultural depictions and a lack of understanding of bovine vision. So, it’s not the color red that angers the bull, but the perceived threat and movement presented by the matador.
7. Lemmings Commit Mass Suicide
The notion that lemmings deliberately plunge to their deaths in mass suicides has been popularized by documentaries and media. This misconception likely originated from observations of their migratory behavior, where large groups may accidentally fall from cliffs during mass movements. However, lemmings do not intentionally kill themselves. Their population booms can lead to overcrowding and resource depletion, which forces them to migrate in search of food. During these migrations, they may encounter dangerous terrain such as cliffs, rivers, or roads, and some inevitably don’t make it across. This isn’t because they’re suicidal; it’s simply a risk of their natural dispersal process.
The infamous idea that they purposefully throw themselves off cliffs was largely fueled by a 1958 Disney documentary, White Wilderness, which staged scenes of lemmings jumping to their deaths for dramatic effect. In reality, these rodents are just trying to survive in an unpredictable environment, not engaging in mass self-destruction.
8. Sharks Are Mindless Killing Machines
Sharks have long been portrayed as ruthless predators that attack anything in their path. Thanks to movies like Jaws and sensationalist media coverage, many people assume sharks are bloodthirsty creatures with no impulse control. But the truth is, sharks are far more complex and misunderstood. Most species prefer to avoid humans, and when bites do happen, they’re often due to mistaken identity—sharks investigating unfamiliar objects with their mouths. Statistically, you’re more likely to be injured by a falling coconut than by a shark attack.
Sharks play a crucial role in maintaining the health of marine ecosystems by keeping fish populations in check and removing sick or weak prey. They’re intelligent, curious, and highly evolved creatures that have been around for over 400 million years. The majority of shark species aren’t even dangerous to humans. Instead of fearing them, we should be more concerned about their declining populations due to overfishing and habitat destruction. If anything, sharks should be afraid of us—millions are killed every year for their fins, which are used in soup.
9. Snakes Chase People
The idea that snakes deliberately chase people is one of the more dramatic wildlife myths out there. Some people swear they’ve been pursued by an aggressive snake, but in reality, snakes don’t have the slightest interest in chasing humans. When a snake appears to be “chasing” someone, it’s usually trying to escape to the nearest cover, which sometimes happens to be in the same direction as the person running away. A startled snake may also move erratically, which can create the illusion that it’s on the offensive.
Most snakes want nothing to do with people. They rely on camouflage and retreat to avoid conflict, and biting is usually a last resort. Even venomous snakes aren’t out to get you; they prefer to save their venom for prey rather than waste it on something they can’t eat. The best way to avoid a snake bite is to give them space, respect their habitat, and remember that they’re more afraid of you than you are of them.
10. Raccoons Are Always Rabid If They’re Out During the Day
It’s common to hear people say that if a raccoon is spotted in daylight, it must be rabid. While raccoons are primarily nocturnal, they sometimes come out during the day for perfectly normal reasons. A mother raccoon, for example, may be foraging during daylight hours to find enough food for her babies. Young raccoons are also curious and may explore their surroundings at any time. Hunger, weather conditions, or human activity can influence when they decide to venture out.
Rabies symptoms in raccoons include disorientation, stumbling, aggression, and foaming at the mouth. Simply being out during the day isn’t a sign of infection. If a raccoon appears sick, lethargic, or aggressive, that’s when you should call animal control. But if it’s just wandering around looking for food, leave it be—it’s just living its life, not coming for yours.
11. Mother Animals Always Reject Babies Touched by Humans
This is another persistent myth that leads well-intentioned people to leave helpless baby animals alone when they could actually use some assistance. Most mammals, like birds, rabbits, and deer, do not abandon their young just because a human has touched them. Many species don’t rely on scent to identify their offspring, and even those that do aren’t so quick to abandon their babies. A mother’s instinct to care for her young is much stronger than a bit of unfamiliar scent.
That said, intervention isn’t always necessary. Some animals, like fawns and baby bunnies, are often left alone for long periods while their mothers forage nearby. If a baby animal looks healthy and unharmed, it’s best to observe from a distance before assuming it needs help. But if you do need to return an animal to its nest or den, don’t worry—it’s not going to be disowned because of a little human contact.
12. Owls Can Turn Their Heads All the Way Around
Owls have an eerie ability to swivel their heads with extreme flexibility, which has led to the belief that they can rotate them a full 360 degrees. While they are remarkably flexible, their heads actually max out at about 270 degrees. This is still impressive, but it’s not quite the exorcist-level head spinning people imagine. The reason for this flexibility is that owls have fixed eye sockets, meaning they can’t move their eyes around like humans can. Instead, they have to turn their whole head to shift their gaze.
To compensate for this limitation, owls have extra vertebrae in their necks, specialized arteries that allow uninterrupted blood flow, and an extraordinary ability to rotate their heads without cutting off circulation to their brains. So while they can’t do a full 360, they can still pull off a movement range that would leave humans with some serious neck pain.
13. Deer Freeze in Headlights Because They’re Stupid
We’ve all seen deer frozen in place on a road as a car barrels toward them, leading to the assumption that they must be a bit, well, dumb. But their behavior is actually a survival instinct gone wrong in an unnatural setting. Deer are prey animals, and when they sense danger, one of their natural responses is to freeze in place to avoid being spotted by predators. Unfortunately, this doesn’t work so well against speeding cars.
A deer’s vision is adapted for detecting movement in low light, but the intense glare of headlights can overwhelm their eyes, making it difficult for them to react quickly. This is why they seem to hesitate before running—it’s not stupidity, it’s their biology trying to adjust to an unfamiliar and confusing situation. To avoid collisions, drivers should slow down in deer-heavy areas, especially at dawn and dusk when they are most active.
14. Bees Die Instantly After Stinging
It’s often said that bees sting once and immediately drop dead, but that’s only partly true. While honeybees do die after stinging mammals, this isn’t the case for all bees. Honeybees have barbed stingers that get stuck in the skin of thick-skinned creatures, causing the stinger and part of their abdomen to be ripped out when they fly away. However, they can sting other insects multiple times without issue. Other types of bees, like bumblebees and carpenter bees, don’t lose their stingers at all and can sting multiple times.
Honeybees don’t sting unless absolutely necessary, as it’s a self-sacrificing act to defend the colony. Meanwhile, solitary bees are much less likely to sting than their social counterparts. So while honeybees do suffer a tragic fate after defending themselves, the idea that all bees die after stinging is simply not true. If you want to avoid a sting in the first place, the best thing to do is remain calm and avoid swatting at them—most bees aren’t interested in attacking unless provoked.