Professor Goose
@thundergoose.bsky.social
Magpie mind interested in all things biology and anything else that catches my attention. Clumsy ally. She/they
Pinned
I’m (trying) to take a break from The Horrors so I’m not going to be around much for an unknown amount of time. If someone could End The Horrors I’d appreciate it.
Get off the internet today. Go outside. Put a deposit on that vacation. Buy that plant you’ve been lusting after from Logee’s.
Oh, wait. Let me order that plant first!
Oh, wait. Let me order that plant first!
January 3, 2026 at 3:31 PM
Get off the internet today. Go outside. Put a deposit on that vacation. Buy that plant you’ve been lusting after from Logee’s.
Oh, wait. Let me order that plant first!
Oh, wait. Let me order that plant first!
More turtles!
The Mary River turtle (Elusor macrurus) is native to Queensland, Australia where it also known as the GREEN-HAIRED or PUNK turtle & you can see why below.
Algae grows on the shell & exposed head, possibly encouraged by the animal's physiology as a form of camouflage.
(📷: Chris Van Wyck)
Algae grows on the shell & exposed head, possibly encouraged by the animal's physiology as a form of camouflage.
(📷: Chris Van Wyck)
January 3, 2026 at 3:23 PM
More turtles!
Timeline cleanse!
There are distinct *disadvantages* to this rigid axial-skeleton derived armor: the animal is less flexible, slower and has more adaptations to breathing, since the ribs are fused to a solid structure.
But given the evolutionary stability of turtles, it appears to be a successful body form.
But given the evolutionary stability of turtles, it appears to be a successful body form.
a turtle is laying in a sink with a faucet coming out of it .
Alt: A turtle is wiggling in a single stream of water coming from above. A drain nearby suggests this is a shower or utility sink of some kind.
media.tenor.com
January 3, 2026 at 3:22 PM
Timeline cleanse!
Need a distraction? How about a thread on turtle “shells”?
Turtles are unique in body-design. Although other animals try to replicate the "exoskeletal armor" (armadillo, pangolin), only the turtle fuses its spinal column & ribs directly to the armor (carapace).
So how did the turtle become the Iron Man of the animal world?
Let's start with "Eunotosaurus":
So how did the turtle become the Iron Man of the animal world?
Let's start with "Eunotosaurus":
January 3, 2026 at 3:22 PM
Need a distraction? How about a thread on turtle “shells”?
I don’t think they’ll be able to get money from the bear…
Black bear living underneath California house shows no sign of budging as homeowner mulls legal action
Black bear living underneath Altadena house shows no sign of budging as homeowner mulls legal action
The 550-pound black bear has taken up residence in the crawlspace underneath Ken Johnson's home in California for a month.
www.cbsnews.com
January 3, 2026 at 1:16 AM
I don’t think they’ll be able to get money from the bear…
Reposted by Professor Goose
Resting is part of self-care. 🪶
January 2, 2026 at 7:30 PM
Resting is part of self-care. 🪶
Watch to the end.
Es ist wieder soweit! It's time to take down and responsibly dispose of your xmas tree. Please consider the Christmas tree cannon
January 2, 2026 at 4:04 PM
Watch to the end.
IT’S JAN. 2!!! One of my favorite days. The holidays are over. Back to predictable hours, fewer crowds everywhere, less emails asking me to donate money before the end of the year.
Once again we have won the battle with Christmas and can return to our real lives for a few peaceful months.
Once again we have won the battle with Christmas and can return to our real lives for a few peaceful months.
January 2, 2026 at 2:12 PM
IT’S JAN. 2!!! One of my favorite days. The holidays are over. Back to predictable hours, fewer crowds everywhere, less emails asking me to donate money before the end of the year.
Once again we have won the battle with Christmas and can return to our real lives for a few peaceful months.
Once again we have won the battle with Christmas and can return to our real lives for a few peaceful months.
Reposted by Professor Goose
Magic Johnson was the grand marshal of the Rose Parade today, and as someone who remembers his November 1991 HIV announcement: if you had told anybody that day that he would be alive and healthy 34+ years later, I don't think they would have believed you. Medicine and research—they work.
January 1, 2026 at 6:17 PM
Magic Johnson was the grand marshal of the Rose Parade today, and as someone who remembers his November 1991 HIV announcement: if you had told anybody that day that he would be alive and healthy 34+ years later, I don't think they would have believed you. Medicine and research—they work.
Good news!
ACTUAL GOOD NEWS EVERYONE: The Paleontological Research Institution and the Museum of the Earth have made it through the crisis!
Thanks to everyone who shared or donated-every donation mattered! Please share the good news just as widely!⚒️🧪🦑 Together we did #savePRI
www.ithaca.com/news/ithaca/...
Thanks to everyone who shared or donated-every donation mattered! Please share the good news just as widely!⚒️🧪🦑 Together we did #savePRI
www.ithaca.com/news/ithaca/...
‘Every Single Dollar Mattered’: Donations Save Museum of the Earth From Foreclosure
Just days before a year-end foreclosure deadline, the Museum of the Earth has paid off its mortgage following a wide fundraising campaign that rescued the Ithaca area landmark.
www.ithaca.com
January 2, 2026 at 1:50 AM
Good news!
Reposted by Professor Goose
Watch the video. There is so much living alongside people that we don’t notice!
#Wood Turtles are pretty secretive animals, and unless they need to cross bare ground to get from point A to point B, they usually hang out in places where they are hard to see.
January 1, 2026 at 3:51 PM
Watch the video. There is so much living alongside people that we don’t notice!
My slogan for 2026: “Be bold - be brave! More than anything else, it takes courage…” uh “ to open an egg.”
(Should’ve read all the way through first)
(Should’ve read all the way through first)
great news everyone, I went back to the antique store to buy the cookbook and the directions for opening an egg from page 34 are even more unhinged than I could have imagined
December 31, 2025 at 11:01 PM
My slogan for 2026: “Be bold - be brave! More than anything else, it takes courage…” uh “ to open an egg.”
(Should’ve read all the way through first)
(Should’ve read all the way through first)
Ok. This brightened my day. Watch to the end
Charlie Brown Christmas Alternate Ending! (with super special guest! Ooo!)
December 31, 2025 at 5:28 PM
Ok. This brightened my day. Watch to the end
Sweet thread of amazing kindness!
1995, studying in Prague for a year. I went to Bucharest by myself, fully intending to shell out for a hotel since there wasn’t a lot of backpacker-level tourist infrastructure yet. Showed up to the hotel to check in & the desk clerk took one look at me and said “You can’t stay here.”
I would like to hear about a time someone, a stranger even, was very kind to you without any prompting, ulterior motive, or strings attached.
December 31, 2025 at 2:58 PM
Sweet thread of amazing kindness!
More Congresspeople like this!
ICYMI: I introduced my Dignity for Detained Immigrants Act, which would require greater oversight of detention facilities, repeal mandatory detention, and prohibit the detention of families and children.
It’s time to protect immigrants from this lawless administration.
It’s time to protect immigrants from this lawless administration.
December 31, 2025 at 2:55 PM
More Congresspeople like this!
Good news! More of this please
After successfully fighting to un-dam the Klamath River, a land trust formed by 4 Northern California tribes just completed the purchase of a huge swath of land in the basin. They plan to focus on habitat recovery, cultural resource protection, & fire management lostcoastoutpost.com/2025/dec/29/...
Klamath Indigenous Land Trust Buys 10,000 Acres Along the Klamath River From PacifiCorp
lostcoastoutpost.com
December 31, 2025 at 2:42 PM
Good news! More of this please
A folk tale for New Years Eve
Bonne année! Happy New Year! Here’s my topical French Canadian folklore print I made for #FolktaleWeek2025: La Chasse-galerie!
The French Canadian folktale of the Chasse-galerie, or the Flying Canoe tells of some hardworking voyageurs in their timber camp, who miss their sweethearts back home, 🧵
The French Canadian folktale of the Chasse-galerie, or the Flying Canoe tells of some hardworking voyageurs in their timber camp, who miss their sweethearts back home, 🧵
December 31, 2025 at 2:25 PM
A folk tale for New Years Eve
It’s hard to believe such a gorgeous bird is real! Many thanks to Mike for posting them.
December 30, 2025 at 3:32 PM
It’s hard to believe such a gorgeous bird is real! Many thanks to Mike for posting them.
Food, food, everywhere!
December 30, 2025 at 3:09 PM
Food, food, everywhere!
“History is basically one long reminder that humans are spectacularly bad at managing power, but surprisingly good at surviving, adapting, and occasionally doing something decent when it matters.”
My Hope is ragged, stubborn and angry. How’s yours?
My Hope is ragged, stubborn and angry. How’s yours?
This is not the inspirational, Instagram-quote version of hope.
This is the stubborn, dented, slightly sarcastic hope that survives out of pure spite. The kind that says, “Yes, everything is on fire, but I’m still not letting the worst people win everything.”
thebarbedwire.com/2025/12/26/y...
This is the stubborn, dented, slightly sarcastic hope that survives out of pure spite. The kind that says, “Yes, everything is on fire, but I’m still not letting the worst people win everything.”
thebarbedwire.com/2025/12/26/y...
Yes, Everything’s on Fire. But People Are Still Helping Each Other
Beneath the screaming headlines, Texans are still quietly doing the right thing — and inspiring us to hold on.
thebarbedwire.com
December 29, 2025 at 3:57 PM
“History is basically one long reminder that humans are spectacularly bad at managing power, but surprisingly good at surviving, adapting, and occasionally doing something decent when it matters.”
My Hope is ragged, stubborn and angry. How’s yours?
My Hope is ragged, stubborn and angry. How’s yours?
Unexpected!
Brittle star vs. Squid! Ophiuroids only appear dainty & harmless. Another cool moment from #OkeanosExplorer #MarineLife
youtu.be/oHN4sWAuBVc?...
youtu.be/oHN4sWAuBVc?...
Brutal Brittle Stars
YouTube video by oceanexplorergov
youtu.be
December 29, 2025 at 2:31 PM
Unexpected!
If this is true it will be a MAJOR breakthrough. Two caveats: The link is to a press release and the work was in mice. Fingers crossed.
December 29, 2025 at 2:02 PM
If this is true it will be a MAJOR breakthrough. Two caveats: The link is to a press release and the work was in mice. Fingers crossed.
Amazing sighting! If you like wildlife in your feed check out David.
No bigger than a lanky dwarf rabbit, the Lesser mousedeer is one of the world’s smallest known hoofed animals. I heard a crunching sound coming from the gloomy undergrowth. Peering through the foliage, I found this little guy cracking open seed pods.
December 29, 2025 at 1:57 PM
Amazing sighting! If you like wildlife in your feed check out David.
Reposted by Professor Goose
December 28, 2025 at 10:52 PM