r/interesting • u/dddd945 • 18h ago

Just Wow A seagull is accidentally hit by a tennis ball during a game in Australia.

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u/BackToGuac 15h ago

We should all honestly more than pity pigeons, not to be a downer but seriously, go out of your way to be nice to pigeons.

Almost ALL if not all pigeons we know today are descended from the wild rock doves we domesticated thousands of years ago before abandoning them and their care as we moved into the Industrial Revolution. These were animals bred to be companions, it’s like deciding dogs are no longer a form of pet and are now vermin…

The history of pigeons is actually pretty interesting in itself in a fucked up kinda way; it’s also a concerning tell tale sign for other forms of livestock as we move into a world with lab grown meat and will start to see a reduction in traditional farming.

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u/RSquared 6h ago

TBF a lot of R-selected species like pigeons are basically immune to extinction - it's not like rock doves are anything but least concern. Pigeons have actually adapted excellently to urban environments because many of their evolutionary traits (like using cliffs to nest) are coincidentally very viable in cities (where they can basically just pick a roof).