Bird feeding chick cigarette end...

[Commander CMG]

A wildlife photographer has captured a picture of a black skimmer bird feeding its chick a cigarette filter on a beach in Florida, USA.

In a Facebook post, Karen Mason said she had happened upon the pair on St Pete beach outside Tampa last month.

She urged: "If you smoke, please don't leave your butts behind."

The UK's RSPB, which described the picture as "heartbreaking", says nature is struggling to adapt to human littering.

Source

[zep73]

Aren't animals supposed to have instincts? A sense of what to do and what not to do?

Or maybe I'm just ill informed. Nature is an idiot...

[+Desertrat56]

7 minutes ago, sci-nerd said:

Aren't animals supposed to have instincts? A sense of what to do and what not to do?

Or maybe I'm just ill informed. Nature is an idiot...

Maybe, but I know some dogs like tobacco.

[zep73]

2 minutes ago, Desertrat56 said:

Maybe, but I know some dogs like tobacco.

Animals eating cigbutts and tobacco... Gives a new meaning to "the world went up in smoke".

[Bendy Demon]

Considering some of these birds may not have the ability to see much detail the momma bird probably thought it was an odd fish.

 

[Grandpa Greenman]

11 minutes ago, sci-nerd said:

Aren't animals supposed to have instincts? A sense of what to do and what not to do?

Or maybe I'm just ill informed. Nature is an idiot...

You are ill informed.  Birds have an instinct to peck, like humans have an instinct to suck and like humans, they learn from their parents what to eat.  One problem I am noticing is there is less and less food out there for the birds and they are changing their behavior and some are becoming desperate when it comes to feeding their chicks. Our ibises are hanging out by fast food joints begging for burger meat.  They never did that, they used to go through our yards eating grubs, now you rarely see them in the yards, because people spray their yards, poisoning birds along with the bugs.  There are fewer birds too, I haven't seen a Skimmer in a long time, I used to see them all the time. The birds are dying and we are killing them.  

[tmcom]

Damn, climate change.

[+Desertrat56]

5 hours ago, tmcom said:

Damn, climate change.

Damn trashy humans.