{"id":16455,"date":"2021-10-18T06:30:00","date_gmt":"2021-10-18T10:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/?p=16455"},"modified":"2021-10-25T10:36:49","modified_gmt":"2021-10-25T14:36:49","slug":"take-5-misunderstood-wildlife","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/take-5-misunderstood-wildlife\/","title":{"rendered":"Take 5: Misunderstood Wildlife"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Over the years, some wildlife has developed a “bad reputation”. The reasons for this can vary\u2014some animals, like opossums and ravens, display behaviors and self-defense techniques that can look scary or off-putting to the human eye, while others, such as bats, are maligned by old folklore and mythology. Sometimes, a few “bad actors” can lead to an entire group of beneficial creatures to be feared, as is the case with wasps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the heart of these apprehensions is simply a misunderstanding of what we’re seeing and the reasons behind it. Unfortunately, some of these fears and misunderstandings have led to widespread persecution of some wildlife, including poisoning, overhunting, and in some cases, extinction. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To help shine a more positive light on the incredible adaptations and important ecological role some of these animals play in nature, we’re hosting a Misunderstood Wildlife online program series<\/a>. Over the course of four sessions, we’ll examine bats, opossums, ravens, and wasps, exploring the reasons they develop unfavorable reputations and the myths and facts that impact them. You’ll never view these animals the same way again!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Enjoy these five photos of the stars of this upcoming program series, taken by entrants to our annual Picture This: Your Great Outdoors<\/a> photo contest, and register today<\/a> for one or all four online programs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Thread-waisted
Thread-waisted Wasp \u00a9 Barbara Taskovics<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Virginia
Virginia Opossums \u00a9 Scott Eggimann<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Common
Common Raven \u00a9 Doug Pederson<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Big
Big Brown Bat (likely) \u00a9 Eric Windover<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Digger
Digger Wasp on Spotted Bee Balm \u00a9 Christine Ceranowicz<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Over the years, some wildlife has developed a “bad reputation”. The reasons for this can vary\u2014some animals, like opossums and ravens, display behaviors and self-defense techniques that can look scary or off-putting to the human eye, while others, such as bats, are maligned by old folklore and mythology. Sometimes, a few “bad actors” can lead […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":68,"featured_media":16458,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[158],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16455","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-take-5"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/10\/4263Scott_Eggimann20335-3.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3t87A-4hp","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":12796,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/in-your-words-flavio-sutti\/","url_meta":{"origin":16455,"position":0},"title":"In Your Words: Flavio Sutti","author":"Ryan D.","date":"June 20, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"In Your Words is a regular feature of Mass Audubon\u2019s\u00a0Explore\u00a0member newsletter. 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We used to dutifully mow our little lawn in a suburban neighborhood where neat, clean landscapes are highly valued. Then I fell in love with butterflies and everything changed. 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