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>The butterflies were lucky. There must be many others that didn't make it. "Nature is prolific. There are many more creatures that are born than can possibly

>The butterflies were lucky. There must be many others that didn't make it. "Nature is prolific. There are many more creatures that are born than can possibly survive." -- Carl Sagan It's a feature, not a bug! (pardon the pun)

BuyMyBitcoins 2y ago
I’m in awe of the tenacity of life. Over a decade ago, a snowy owl made its way to the island of Oahu on its own. Sadly, it had to be killed because it arrived near Honolulu’s international airport and could not captured by animal control. An autopsy revealed that this owl had expended so much energy crossing the pacific that it almost certainly would have died of exhaustion within a few hours of its arrival. But, it still made it. Hawaii has its own species of Owl. Their ancestors must have made a similar journey and had just enough luck to survive and establish a population there. I’m fascinated by this. How did it happen? No owls migrate to Hawaii. Did this one get lost in a storm? Was it sheer luck that this owl picked the right direction while flying over the open ocean to end up finding Oahu? Do some owls just feel an urge to pick a direction and just keep flying? Was this one owl’s magnificent flight the result of some undescribed phenomenon? Perhaps there is some rare instinct which inspires an individual to go on a suicidal journey into the unknown. A species sacrificing an individual to make the gamble that it will end up in some far flung biome and establishing itself there. The flip side of this story is realizing just how many more snowy owls must have ended up over the Pacific Ocean and kept flying until they unceremoniously perished amongst the waves. https://www.civilbeat.org/2012/01/details-emerge-about-snowy-owl-holiday-death/ https://www.civilbeat.org/2012/01/details-emerge-about-snowy...
- authorfly 2y ago
  Besides from the impact of bacteria on entrepreneurship, the behavior of exploring/foraging bees[2], I think the most likely reason is actually losing one or more senses and relying on other senses which happen to lead you to travel in straight lines (e.g. magnetic) - just as moths use the Moon to travel very far in a straight line. Why these journeys begin and end is another question. Serotonin and dopamine might be involved. [1] https://hbr.org/2022/07/a-common-parasite-can-make-people-more-entrepreneurial https://hbr.org/2022/07/a-common-parasite-can-make-people-mo... [2] https://theconversation.com/some-bees-are-born-curious-while-others-are-more-single-minded-new-research-hints-at-how-the-hive-picks-which-flowers-to-feast-on-144900 https://theconversation.com/some-bees-are-born-curious-while...
- d0gsg0w00f 2y ago
  I don't forget, to establish a new owl community you have to convince a lady owl to come with you on the suicidal journey.
  - anal_reactor 2y ago
    > babe we gonna fly towards the setting sun > k
  - BuyMyBitcoins 2y ago
    It was never mentioned in the article, but this owl could have been female and might have been gravid.
- Steven420 2y ago
  It may have been someones pet
  - BuyMyBitcoins 2y ago
    That has been ruled out based on the results of the autopsy. Furthermore, Hawaii has severe restrictions on the import of exotic animals as pets and it is unlikely someone would have smuggled one in just to end up releasing it in urban Honolulu.
peebeebee 2y ago
Once I had this vision in a strong ayahuasca trip... I met "Mother Nature", but it wasn't the feminine caring image you'd think of. It was an unstoppable force of life that did not had any caring of right or wrong. It only wanted to create more life. It had more a feeling of millions of beings crawling over each other, like a beehive or ants nests. Just devouring everything with "life". Like a "Squiggle Maximizer" with a vengeance and attitude. It was awesome, but made me seriously reconsider the "sacredness" of life.
- adamrezich 2y ago
  Abject nihilism is fucking lame, and I don't care whatever chemically-induced experiences you or anyone else has had or whatever value you think you found within them or whatever the fuck, but I'm frankly tired of pretending otherwise.
  - peebeebee 2y ago
    That’s a nihilist statement though. :p I was just outing my experience, no need to get that riled up.
    - adamrezich 2y ago
      These ideas are inherently harmful to spread to other people so flippantly—think of the possible nth-order effects for five fucking seconds, and you'll see what I mean. (Or, don't because nothing fucking matters anyway, right, mannnn?) We need to learn to respond to such nonsense swiftly, or we're completely and totally fucked as a civilization, as a species, in this information age of instantaneous transmission of thoughts and ideas. Your ideas with regards to this matter are horrible, and you should feel horrible for proselytizing them. (But, of course, you won't, because nothing fucking matters anyway, right, mannnn?)
      - 47282847 2y ago
        „This is what I experienced“ is not the same as „this is what I believe in“. Me telling you „I once was told by a nazi that all Jews need to be punished for their sins“ does not make me a nazi.

BuyMyBitcoins 2y ago

I’m in awe of the tenacity of life. Over a decade ago, a snowy owl made its way to the island of Oahu on its own. Sadly, it had to be killed because it arrived near Honolulu’s international airport and could not captured by animal control. An autopsy revealed that this owl had expended so much energy crossing the pacific that it almost certainly would have died of exhaustion within a few hours of its arrival. But, it still made it. Hawaii has its own species of Owl. Their ancestors must have made a similar journey and had just enough luck to survive and establish a population there. I’m fascinated by this. How did it happen? No owls migrate to Hawaii. Did this one get lost in a storm? Was it sheer luck that this owl picked the right direction while flying over the open ocean to end up finding Oahu? Do some owls just feel an urge to pick a direction and just keep flying? Was this one owl’s magnificent flight the result of some undescribed phenomenon? Perhaps there is some rare instinct which inspires an individual to go on a suicidal journey into the unknown. A species sacrificing an individual to make the gamble that it will end up in some far flung biome and establishing itself there. The flip side of this story is realizing just how many more snowy owls must have ended up over the Pacific Ocean and kept flying until they unceremoniously perished amongst the waves. https://www.civilbeat.org/2012/01/details-emerge-about-snowy-owl-holiday-death/ https://www.civilbeat.org/2012/01/details-emerge-about-snowy...

authorfly 2y ago
Besides from the impact of bacteria on entrepreneurship, the behavior of exploring/foraging bees[2], I think the most likely reason is actually losing one or more senses and relying on other senses which happen to lead you to travel in straight lines (e.g. magnetic) - just as moths use the Moon to travel very far in a straight line. Why these journeys begin and end is another question. Serotonin and dopamine might be involved. [1] https://hbr.org/2022/07/a-common-parasite-can-make-people-more-entrepreneurial https://hbr.org/2022/07/a-common-parasite-can-make-people-mo... [2] https://theconversation.com/some-bees-are-born-curious-while-others-are-more-single-minded-new-research-hints-at-how-the-hive-picks-which-flowers-to-feast-on-144900 https://theconversation.com/some-bees-are-born-curious-while...
d0gsg0w00f 2y ago
I don't forget, to establish a new owl community you have to convince a lady owl to come with you on the suicidal journey.
- anal_reactor 2y ago
  > babe we gonna fly towards the setting sun > k
- BuyMyBitcoins 2y ago
  It was never mentioned in the article, but this owl could have been female and might have been gravid.
Steven420 2y ago
It may have been someones pet
- BuyMyBitcoins 2y ago
  That has been ruled out based on the results of the autopsy. Furthermore, Hawaii has severe restrictions on the import of exotic animals as pets and it is unlikely someone would have smuggled one in just to end up releasing it in urban Honolulu.

peebeebee 2y ago

Once I had this vision in a strong ayahuasca trip... I met "Mother Nature", but it wasn't the feminine caring image you'd think of. It was an unstoppable force of life that did not had any caring of right or wrong. It only wanted to create more life. It had more a feeling of millions of beings crawling over each other, like a beehive or ants nests. Just devouring everything with "life". Like a "Squiggle Maximizer" with a vengeance and attitude. It was awesome, but made me seriously reconsider the "sacredness" of life.

adamrezich 2y ago
Abject nihilism is fucking lame, and I don't care whatever chemically-induced experiences you or anyone else has had or whatever value you think you found within them or whatever the fuck, but I'm frankly tired of pretending otherwise.
- peebeebee 2y ago
  That’s a nihilist statement though. :p I was just outing my experience, no need to get that riled up.
  - adamrezich 2y ago
    These ideas are inherently harmful to spread to other people so flippantly—think of the possible nth-order effects for five fucking seconds, and you'll see what I mean. (Or, don't because nothing fucking matters anyway, right, mannnn?) We need to learn to respond to such nonsense swiftly, or we're completely and totally fucked as a civilization, as a species, in this information age of instantaneous transmission of thoughts and ideas. Your ideas with regards to this matter are horrible, and you should feel horrible for proselytizing them. (But, of course, you won't, because nothing fucking matters anyway, right, mannnn?)
    - 47282847 2y ago
      „This is what I experienced“ is not the same as „this is what I believe in“. Me telling you „I once was told by a nazi that all Jews need to be punished for their sins“ does not make me a nazi.