You may have heard of TikTok’s beloved hippo Moo Deng, and Pesto the fluffy baby penguin but have you heard of the app’s new feathered friend? That’s right, another bird. Not a beautifully vibrant parrot, or even just a singular chirping chick, no – the internet has fallen in love with… pigeons.
Now this may be a divisive subject if you speak to someone in real life, dubbed ‘flying rats’ and recognised as vermin by many, but one thing rings true across social media – the internet loves an underdog (or bird).
So why pigeons?
- Sympathy – they were the first messaging system and crucial in both world wars, where one pigeon, Cher Ami, was even awarded the French Croix de Guerre for bravery. The internet has come together to appreciate their effort and celebrate the species after then being abandoned into cities after all their efforts
- Intelligence -despite not coming across as the brightest birds, pigeons have been praised and used many a time for their brains. Some facts about them are they can count, track faces, and have an exceptional memory
- Abuse – after being kicked, chased and generally hated, social media users want to combat this by spreading the love for the birds, in a bid to stop the hostility towards them
- Cuteness – controversial to some, but pigeons are being appreciated for their adorableness – what more, pigeons are also monogamous – how sweet!
Wildlife conservationist Susan Powell says, “it’s heartwarming to see people honour wildlife and begin to recognise the beauty in all creatures.”
Videos online range from edits to rescue missions as the pigeon side of TikTok continues to swell.
Content creators such as ‘@comeonlittlepigeon’ and ‘@spiritofawildflower’ post videos of pigeon keeping and rehabilitation online. These pages have gathered both interest and support, with commenters praising their work.
Powell says, “we are starting to get more and more pigeons being sent into rescue centres, which shows that more people are starting to care about creatures that might typically be overlooked.
“It’s nice to see a general surge of care for animals you often see classified as vermin. A lot of the time animals that come under this umbrella are used as punching bags or met with apathy when they are in need – so its positive the narrative is steering away from this.”
So what does this mean?
The growing number of posts online is prompting public reflection on how we treat wildlife- and offering unexpected history lessons about the animals that have supported humans in times of need. From rats trained to detect landmines to spiders naturally managing insect populations, pigeons have found their way into this conversation. Once dismissed and disliked, they’ve begun to earn appreciation in certain corners of the internet, joining the ranks of misunderstood creatures finally getting their due.
For more stories on Social Media click here: https://illuminatedmag.co.uk/social-media/
