[LINK] "Predators"

[rfmcdonald]

Over at Love and Fiction Publishing, Clifford Jackman, fresh from his trip to Africa, speculates about what makes predators not only so successful, but so respected by human beings.

There is something boring about herbivores. They stand there and eat grass and look at the world placidly. Predators, on the other hand, have to hunt their food, and I think people have the idea that they are, and have to be, fitter, stronger, smarter than the other animals, that the predator is at the “top” of the food chain because of its merit, that it has won some kind of talent contest (the survival of the fittest) over the meek herbivores. As if there is almost a social hierarchy among the animals, with the lion (the biggest, strongest and most numerous predator) as the “king.”

And it's interesting to me how we seem to associate successful people, who have money or fame or success with the opposite sex, with predators.

The problem with this analogy is that predators are not, in fact, "fitter" than herbivores at all. They are, in fact, spectacularly lazy. Lions in particular are the most epically boring animals on safari. They lie on the ground, beating their sides with their tail, while antelopes gallivant less than a hundred yards away. Their whole bearing is one of indolent power, not restless hyper-activity (although it should be noted that the cheetah, alone of the big cats, always preserves an air of repressed energy even when resting).

As for predators being faster than their prey, well, that is simply incorrect. An antelope can outrun a lion without any problem at all. Neither are they particularly stronger. A giraffe can kill any African predator with a single kick. A lion does not have the faintest chance against a full grown rhino or elephant or waterbuffalo. Nor would I like a crocodile's chances against a full-grown hippopotamus.

And this brings us to the secret of the predator - that it is not in fact faster or more powerful than its prey, but instead simply chooses its opportunities very, very, very carefully. A predator is as indolent as possible, even during the hunt, to preserve its energy. A predator will attempt to separate a baby from the herd or target any animal that appears weak or lame. A predator does not earn its position through strength, speed, or any other meritous quality, but only cunning and a relentless drive to choose the safest option, without any concerns for honor, nobility, or fairness.

"Perhaps the real message is we should be careful drawing analogies between people and animals." Perhaps. Perhaps, as Clifford also suggested, the message is that the ideas and people we may favour aren't intrinsically superior so much as they benefitted from the predator's sense of timing.

Anyhow. Go, read.