Hacker News Reader

Comment by jazoom | Hacker News Reader

Koalas are fine. I don't know anyone who has ever been attacked by one. They just keep to themselves.

Magpies are much worse. I don't know anyone who hasn't been swooped by one.

People injure themselves panicking around Australian Magpies, far more than anything Magpies directly do. Just avoid their space for a few weeks when they are protective, and otherwise they are very sweet. If you must be in their space (i.e. you live there), invest in feeding them (not cat food!), and your main problem will be the singing gets annoying as they follow you around waiting for snacks :)

You're oversimplify it. You don't know where they are until they are already swooping you. They've drawn blood on me before when I was walking from my car into work. They are a menace for cyclists. A woman tripped over recently when being attacked by a magpie. She was carrying her baby. The baby died.

Sure, if you know exactly where they are on a regular route you might be able to avoid them by taking a different route.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-08-09/qld-baby-dies-after-m...

"People injure themselves panicking around Australian Magpies, far more than anything Magpies directly do." sounds just like victim-blaming.

In comparison, koalas just stay in their trees when you walk past.

Of course I'm generalising because the majority of magpies don't swoop and I like hearing their songs. But there are plenty of overly aggressive magpies that do real harm.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com