Prey Evasion Tactics & Defensive Capacities

Nature is defined by an eternal struggle between two different kinds of organisms, predator and prey. The hunter and the hunted. Evolutionary fitness for the predator is obvious; whatever traits that enable a successful hunt, ensuring it's survival, are what make them fit. However, as with the Red Queen in Alice in Wonderland, it takes all the running you can do to stay in place. For prey species, in nature, develop countermeasures. It is the countermeasures the hunted, not the capabilities of the hunters, that I find most fascinating. As a caterpillar, the monarch butterfly gorges itself on Milkweed, making it poisonous as an adult. While a cheetah is able run between 112 and 120 km/h (70 and 75 mph), it can only do so in short bursts. The Grant's gazelle, it's prey, is only able to run between 76 to 90 km/h (47–56 mph)-but can do so for a sustained period of time. Naturally, I turn my thinking toward Felaryan prey: humans, elves, nekos, etc.

I will start with the species I am most familiar with; humans. Humans, scientifically labeled Homo sapiens (a Latin phrase meaning "knowing man" or "wise man". Such a name lays bare the pretensions of the species it refers to.), are a species of primate related on Earth to a family called "The Great Apes". Of all the Great Apes, man dominates the planet on which he appears (so long as not faced by larger predators). Their success is due to a number of factors: a fairly sophisticated brain; language; toolmaking that goes beyond sticks and stones; cooperation, usually limited to particular in-groups, extending to out-groups via a trade-driven extended order (after all, self-sufficiency is poverty); the ability to form extremely large tribes, called "nations"; the capacity to understand reality through observation and informal reasoning; perhaps most importantly is the ability to transmit ideas down to future generations. Chief weaknesses include numerous cognitive biases; ascribing agency to impersonal phenomena; confusing what is with what ought; mistreatment of harmless "deviants"; overestimating chances of success for a given venture; their tendency towards conquering and plundering other tribes more than coexisting and trading with them; and, perhaps the Achilles heel in worlds like Felarya or Dorontu, evaluating amoral situations by moral criteria ("Don't eat me, I'm a person!" captures this very well).

With this given, I open this thread as a forum to discuss how human beings in Felarya leverage their strengths and fall victim to their weaknesses. I didn't include the usual strengths and weaknesses, and excluded the usual moral failings ("greed", "cruelty", and the like may be immoral, but in a state of nature they can be useful for he survival of an individual organism). In addition, this should be a place to develop how other prey races survive in Felarya, based on their natures as determined by their hypothetical evolution. While all sapient species share similar characteristics to humans, they may have strengths or weaknesses that are unique to them-again, as determined by evolution.

So, all you armchair biologists and anthropologists, get to it!

Well, I don't have a whole helluva lot to add to this topic. I'm only going to spit a quick verse. Sorry in advance if I've missed the whole point of the thread, you'll find that I do that often.

Anyways, the way I see things, human beings are probably the only race that will or has ceased to evolve because of our intelligence and the way we use it to adapt our environment to suit us, rather than we adapting to our environment. Basically, I believe we've hit the ceiling. The same can be said for our bodies evolving defense mechanisms against predation. The ability to outsmart, outnumber, and outgun our predators puts us humans in a unique position where we can actually chose whether we play the role of the prey or the predators. There's really only one reason that humans find themselves on the wrong end of the food chain so much; it's a lack of preparation. As the saying goes, to fail to prepare is to prepare to fail.

Just my skewed perspective.

gt500x wrote:

Well, I don't have a whole helluva lot to add to this topic. I'm only going to spit a quick verse. Sorry in advance if I've missed the whole point of the thread, you'll find that I do that often.

Anyways, the way I see things, human beings are probably the only race that will or has ceased to evolve because of our intelligence and the way we use it to adapt our environment to suit us, rather than we adapting to our environment. Basically, I believe we've hit the ceiling. The same can be said for our bodies evolving defense mechanisms against predation. The ability to outsmart, outnumber, and outgun our predators puts us humans in a unique position where we can actually chose whether we play the role of the prey or the predators. There's really only one reason that humans find themselves on the wrong end of the food chain so much; it's a lack of preparation. As the saying goes, to fail to prepare is to prepare to fail.

Just my skewed perspective.

True but evolution is random, we spite it with medicine and technology. Our evolution will be brought out through the hands of scientists. Time will tell if we live or fail in our existence.

I'll recommend a book for you to get, available on iPod / iPhone aswell as book stores it's called. SAS Survival Guide, has many survival techniques for surviving everything the earth can do to you. But I imagine it would help in Felarya just as much. I would also recommend Ray Mears, bushcraft survival. Teaches you how to light a fire with a bow-drill. And has other survival information. Then there's soldiers pocket book, teaches you field tactics. Used in the British army but it's all level 1 stuff nothing to serious.
I have 5 other books on survival, but the ones mentioned do it better. Will in part information if you have a specific enquiry on survival.

Just remember the three, threes, 3 minutes without shelter, 3 days without water, 3 weeks without food.

Water is the next most important thing to the body, next air. You don't realise how important it is until there's nothing to drink. Survival in woodland can be very difficult, near impossible in Felarya.

gt, we continue to evolve. Our evolution comes from greater technology. >_>

All transhumanist notions aside here, I'm actually asking you to start from an unenhanced baseline. Considering my afforementioned strengths and weaknesses, on these alone, what would enable long term survival?

Militant-Prey wrote:

I will start with the species I am most familiar with; humans. Humans, scientifically labeled Homo sapiens (a Latin phrase meaning "knowing man" or "wise man". Such a name lays bare the pretensions of the species it refers to.),

Er, why the "pretension" comment? We are knowing and wise. For starters, we actually recognize that there is an ecosystem. That's already a leg up over, hm, pretty much every other animal.

Just jumping in on that comment, as it seems a bit odd to dispute humans as being "wise" or anything when by our very nature most people have at least one good moment in their lives wherein they acknowledge or discover something that no other animal could.

Militant-Prey wrote:

man dominates the planet on which he appears (so long as not faced by larger predators).

Er, even then. Tool use has rendered larger predators, prey, and so-on as no-more a lasting concern. Unless what you meant was "larger predators" as in "Felarya scale and type", and not the more common "Large bears, Lions, etcetera".

Militant-Prey wrote:

perhaps most importantly is the ability to transmit ideas down to future generations.

One of the key reasons "Prey" has an advantage (besides the tool use one, which is partially mitigated by magic). They can pass down knowledge on a wider scale and more accurately than Giant Predators.

Militant-Prey wrote:

Chief weaknesses include numerous cognitive biases; ascribing agency to impersonal phenomena; confusing what is with what ought; mistreatment of harmless "deviants"; overestimating chances of success for a given venture; their tendency towards conquering and plundering other tribes more than coexisting and trading with them; and, perhaps the Achilles heel in worlds like Felarya or Dorontu, evaluating amoral situations by moral criteria ("Don't eat me, I'm a person!" captures this very well).

A lot of these weaknesses are, well, personal. Very personal weaknesses. Much of the "weaknesses" you stated are in grey areas toward what is helpful and what is harmful for survival.

If you were going to go for weaknesses, I would instead have proposed the proportional lack of strength (compare a human's strength to an orangutan), the need to learn as opposed to the need to survive (humans are born with very few survival facts compared to many other species', having to learn those instead of apply them immediately), their lack of anti-Predator capabilities compared to other native fauna (at least naked, compare the odds of a dozen spine beetles against a Giant Predator to the odds of a dozen Humans: The Spine Beetles might actually piss the Predator off, the humans are going to be as well off as they can grab nearby tools and improvise them before they're snatched and gobbled).

Weakness' imply a deficiency that other creatures lack (hence why I hate the "Zombies have one weakness: Shoot them in the brain they die" statement. That's not a weakness, that's a strength!). Biases, confusing what is with what ought, mistreatment, overestimating (as well as underestimating), conquering neighbors, all them can be applied to everything else on Felarya. Only the moral one can't be applied in general (though it can still be applied to most Giant Predators, if in a different manner), and again that one's iffy in that it supposes that morality in itself is a weakness.

Militant-Prey wrote:

("greed", "cruelty", and the like may be immoral, but in a state of nature they can be useful for he survival of an individual organism).

You just included those in weaknesses, though, while saying you didn't.



Anyways, for survival tactics? For starters, groups. A lone Giant Predator, literally, cannot eat a tribe of 100 humans on its own in a single day. It is physically impossible, unless their stomach can extend like a large balloon (imagine a person trying to eat 100 Twinkies in a single sitting!). Being in a group allows some people to, inevitably, survive (whether the Predator's attack is successful or not), unless we're speaking a non-sentient Predator (such as a Spine Beetle Swarm or a pack of Kensha Beasts, which due to hunting instinct might kill them all but only eat about a third of them). Survival means knowledge of what did or didn't work, and the passing on of such knowledge.

Tool use, again, is helpful. Dig down to where most Predators can't reach you, for an example. Such does not favor agricultural societies, but it does give a possibility of temporary respite.

Constantly shifting around in the group, with people on the flanks moving in and vice-versa, can be helpful when attempting to throw off someone's count of the group. Even if you can only get someone to think that a 20 man group is 18 strong, that's two people you leave unaccounted for: Two people who can rush off to warn others, carry the knowledge, initiate a rescue attempt, or so on. You don't let someone get a good head count on a group, you can also conceal more numbers than actually are there: A Fairy tribe not going after 16 people, since there's not enough people there to even have one / fairy. There being 23 actual people, though, or just enough to feed each, you got away because they simply didn't consider you worth the effort yet.

In regard to defense capabilities? We've touched on them in other threads. ... A lot. There's many defensive capabilities against a Giant Predator throughout nearly every technological stage, provided you apply tools in an efficient manner / augment with spells or higher technology.

This thread just about summarizes everything I hate with "lol humans are weak and retarded" logic.

Sean Okotami wrote:

gt, we continue to evolve. Our evolution comes from greater technology. >_>

I don't count technological advancement as evolution.

To M.P., I think that even in our most primitive state of exhistence, meaning no help from evolution or high tech equipment, humans will survive just fine because we still have the superior intellect and ability to form strong groups. We are head and shoulders above any other race out there.

Malahite pretty much said all I had to say. Really, a single human can't solo a predator unless it got extremely lucky.

Sean Okotami wrote:

Malahite pretty much said all I had to say. Really, a single human can't solo a predator unless it got extremely lucky.

Or very prepared, and can convince the predator to fight on the human's terms.

I especially meant a giant predator. By lucky I usually mean an extremely good shot from an anti-material rifle in the back of the skull.

If well equipped, you can solo a Predator quite handily. However, if you're speaking someone equipped like a FORCE:Ground trooper, it's kind of a moot point as non-material and Guardian-type foes need to be brought into the picture (or dog-piling with enough bodies that the mega-weapon and armor both run out of ammunition / power).

However, it's too impractical in most instances to try such. An Arch-Mage could do so, possibly, but an Arch-Mage doesn't become an Arch-Mage by risking it and wandering alone. If they do travel alone, they're often doing so with an extreme focus on stealth, speed, or both (if not just straight-up divination followed by teleportation). The stupid-well equipped guy could, but then there's no real point to such a story unless you're either:
A) Writing a one-shot to explain how this one character / faction is reasonably enough equipped that they can survive a solitary passage.
B) About to suffer a Samus and lose most of their equipment / powers (which, when you get to such power levels, is a very hard thing to describe without forcing Guardian or high-power actions).

There's also the tactic of "Befriend a Giant Predator to help you", but those plans (unlike how they're portrayed in stories) are probably one-in-a-million (due to the combination of who finds you, their current condition, their current mood, what you bring to the table, etcetera). Plus the fact that Giant Predators, though "common", are still vastly outnumbered by other threats (Seriously, people who spend the whole while worrying only about the chance of Dridder or Naga assault are going to be woefully surprised when they find out that running into one of them is abnormal, running into a nest of super-hornets or Kensha Beasts not so much). It isn't really much of a "tactic" either (counts as one, but cannot in any way be considered reliable or overall a worthwhile expenditure: What if you befriend them, but your companions are seen as fair game before you can convince otherwise? Hey, you're probably going to be seen as that guy who ratted out his friends to a Giant Predator to live. Good luck finding any more groups).

Having a group is pretty much a pre-requisite for most tactics. The size of the group varies, the composition of the group varies (though I'd personally suggest at least 10-33% of the group be mages, rounded up), and so on, but without a group you're really vulnerable even if you think / know yourself to be a survival expert (what happens if you break a leg during travel? You have to sleep when you think you might be stalked at the moment? If you're alone, this becomes much more concerning). The most you need to worry about a group (overall) is either having a "rat out" friend, or a Cult of Sineria follower in your midst who does not consider you valuable at the moment (which at best will leave you be, at worst rat you out for a faction bonus / sacrifice you to accomplish an objective).

Logistically, having a back-up weapon or spell is key. I don't care what people say about "Swords don't need to reload": True, but they do need to be repaired, they can still break, someone can still disarm you of it. Walking around with just a single weapon is asking for yourself to be horribly handicapped. Same for knowing only a single elemental type of magic, and no supplementary magic with it. You should always have at least even a basic spell of some other type / element (Ice 2, Ice 3, Ice Storm, and Ice Blade are going to come in real handy when you need to explore that dark cave without a torch aren't they?).

To avoid prey on earth tactics involve using. A) Soecial soap without any fragrance in it. B) Washing in plain water to get rid if grime.

Also you would have to use plants to help in survival, both as food and as camouflage.

But survival in Felarya no matter the amount of preparation is very much against. I mean the plants want to eat you, every damn thing big enough will. As well as other preds human sized will get ya.

Having guns will only go so far, you would need numbers. Be able to move quickly and great distances. Still I suppose luck would play a greater role. Seeing as a lot of stories throw mercs around, but truly well paid mercs have heavy munitions. Including some weapons used by governments. Seeing as a tank in the English army can fire 3 different shells at it's discretion each designed to destroy different targets. One of the deadliest shells is a kinetic shell, after it impacts it's target it would technically fire a second shell into the target. Armour piercing in other words. But I would probably use anti air guns on giant predators of all types. Seeing as when used on old Gerry it did a great deal of damage to there tanks and pilots.

Other weapons could be used napalm, chemical warfare may work to a certain degree poisons etc. Germ warfare none existent due to the worlds effects on those elements.

I may have started rambling in there some where

Malahite wrote:

Plus the fact that Giant Predators, though "common", are still vastly outnumbered by other threats (Seriously, people who spend the whole while worrying only about the chance of Dridder or Naga assault are going to be woefully surprised when they find out that running into one of them is abnormal, running into a nest of super-hornets or Kensha Beasts not so much).

That's a good point here. While they are not often mentionned in stories and such, encounter with animals and various creatures would be much more likely than with a giant pred.

Karbo wrote:

Malahite wrote:

Plus the fact that Giant Predators, though "common", are still vastly outnumbered by other threats (Seriously, people who spend the whole while worrying only about the chance of Dridder or Naga assault are going to be woefully surprised when they find out that running into one of them is abnormal, running into a nest of super-hornets or Kensha Beasts not so much).

That's a good point here. While they are not often mentionned in stories and such, encounter with animals and various creatures would be much more likely than with a giant pred.

And that is a trend I shall attempt to subvert among other trends.