Predation: A Cross-Study into Human/Animal Ecological Adaptation Patterns

     I would like this to serve as a part two, to the article on How to not Become a Target. In understanding human relationships, such as those we see between a criminal/bully and their target, I think it's worthwhile to examine the relationship's between a predator and prey in the wild in relating our discussion to human interactions. In the wild, predators are animals that kill and eat their prey. Both predators and prey have evolved and developed tools and mechanisms to make themselves better predators, and better survivalists. In biology this is seen as an evolutionary arms race, as one develops a better method to counter their opponents move. Prey in particular have evolved tactics to escape predators and to avoid confrontation all together. Some of these include, mimicry, by making themselves appear to be bigger than they are, or to be an entirely different species. An example would be the patterns on the wings of a moth. Crypsis is the act of concealing oneself from predatory species. This can be achieved through camouflage Other species modify their behaviors to avoid becoming dinner. An example is safety in numbers through cohabitation and group forming/herds, something we see in plenty of species like zebra's, gazelle's and schools of fish.
    And while some of these tactics can be used by us, some are just plain unrealistic and not worthy of mention. It will be more worthwhile to discuss those which we can use in everyday life. I will discuss both the dual, predator and prey side. It's important to distinguish, that I am not attempting to give criminals and predators more tools to abuse and exploit people with. In the words of Sun Tzu, "If you know your enemies and know yourself, you will not be imperiled in a hundred battles...if you do not know your enemies nor yourself, you will be imperiled in every single battle." and through that, "To know your enemy, you must become your enemy."

     Predator's are divided into two categories in the animal world, active and ambush. It's one thing to be chased down by something that means to harm you or kill you. It's another to have it waiting for you. Which is why pursuit predation, is a terrifying concept. Animals that have adopted Pursuit predation or ambushing as a means of attacking it's prey, do so because they don't have capability to match the speed of their fleeing prey. Humans on the other hand use it purely for the element of surprise.

      "No one is so brave that he is not disturbed by something unexpected." 

                                                                                                    -Julius Caesar 

Active Predators on the other hand, forcibly seek and pursue potential prey, through chase. Rarely is this a human tactic. Human predators rely heavily on the element of surprise and throwing their 'prey' off. They are typically cowardly in how they use this tactic, meaning they will attack at random, but when their targets fight back or run, typically they retreat or refuse to give chase. It's a quick transaction between the predator and his target, and when any kind of kink is thrown into the chain, predators are quick to abandon their targets, out of fear of lawful repercussions. These same repercussions obviously are non-existent in the animal world.
     According to Oren Hassen, Wild Predators often assess their target on a number of factors, including their alert level, their Relative Escape Ability (REA), their defense mechanisms, and nutritional value. In humans however, understanding why crime occurs is key in understanding why predators pick their targets. Criminologists take many different approaches as to why crime occurs. Without delving too deep into criminology theory, the basis of crime falls into several camps. From the socio-economic factors blamed in conflict theory, to differential association theories that postulate that criminal behavior is learned, to biological theories of deviance, that state the opposite. The rest of this article assumes the Routine Activity Theory. Under RA theory, Crimes are purely situational and based on the opportunities presented to them, and the routines of others. That in order for crime to occur, one must typically leave their home. While this is no means universal, it is important in our discussion of situational awareness, later in the article.
     The success rate of predators largely depends on the actions of it's prey, for example in whether it follows a directional or non-directional path in escaping, with directional escapes having the highest rates of success. The success rate also depends largely on the predator's ability to adapt. This includes what type of prey it pursues, and whether it stays a pure active, or ambush predator. The best predators (in the wild) are not exclusively one or the other, but a mix of ambush and active. Many predators are simply opportunistic. They eat whatever they can find. This is true in humans as well. Many predators don't prey on targets unless the opportunity presents itself. For example spotting an unlocked car door, stealing out of the unguarded purse, or even something so minor as finding a keeping the contents of a lost wallet. And then in the Animal kingdom other's are more vicious and specialized in their approach. They are trained and very particular in the type of target they go after. Most animals like people, do not fall so neatly into this category. However, some animals like the Bulldog bat have adapted to rely solely on hunting and consuming fish. Dasypeltis, a genus of snake have evolved to eating exclusively eggs. And like in the animal world, in the human world, many predators and criminals have come to learn how to pursue one type of target. They develop techniques, methods and clever backstories in pursuing their specialized targets. And while the number of targets they have to prey on are limited, since they have only one type of target to pursue they have become exceedingly good and dangerous at what they do.  For example, many predators pursue the elderly, by appealing to their mental and physical fragile nature. Alzheimer's and dementia usually play a role in tricking the elderly into giving them money, or they're just preyed upon as easy targets for home invasions and muggings. Others go after children, through their naive and trusting nature, with promises of gifts or fear of retaliation.

     And like predators, prey too have evolved and adapted to the tactics imposed by them, by their predator counter-parts. As mentioned earlier, examples like mimicry and camouflage are too unrealistic for humans to really adapt in the literal sense, but I'll do my best to examine and translate them into more human terms, while trying not to state the obvious. Animals like people send out signals. These signals come in the form of chemicals and unique and subtle body language. For humans, we send out signals that either make us targets or keep potential predators at bay (See article: How to Not Become a Target). Animals however lack the capability of giving off target signals. They are inherently targets, regardless of what body language they give off. But a number of evolutionary tricks have changed the game. Many animals have evolved and adapted into giving off pursuit deterrent signals, that warn a predator that pursuing them is unprofitable and not in their best interest. Gazelle's have been known to stot (bounce) near the end of pursuits, to discourage further chase from predators. They also raise their heads and let predators know that they are aware of their presence. Certain species of rodents against snake threat, have been known to "physically harass" the snake predator. The use of vibrational and visual signals are used. to let the snake know that they have been spotted, and thus confrontation is futile. Rulon Clark, who conducted these studies, concluded that these signals were "honest forms of communication", that let the predator clearly know that pursuing chase with it's prey will yield unprofitable results. This translates pretty clearly into human terms. As a recap, ambush and opportunity predation are the most common forms of human predation. Opportunity predation can be avoided through simple counter measures. However in ambush predation, when you let your attacker know you know he's there, this kills the element of surprise and ultimately their plan of attack. And while I can't advocate "physically harassing" your attacker, as I said earlier, their acts are typically cowardly in nature, and any type of resistance you utilize, will most likely be met with a frustrated/fleeing attacker.
   Many animals rely on herd formation and cohesion as a method of avoiding becoming targets. Many species according to the selfish herd theory, fight for center position in a pack, guaranteeing them a chance to escape, as animals forced onto the outside perimeter of a herd, are put in the cross-hairs of potential predators. And while there is an obvious safety in numbers, this is simply an unrealistic tactic, that cannot be employed 100% in everyday human life, and also because human predators pick targets based on the simple fact that they are alone and isolated. Other great animal prey tactics but unrealistic human tactics include camouflaging and nocturnality. I view both tactics as living a life in fear, and I can't advocate either one. That aside, while blending into ones environment is realistic, again, it means very little against a predator that's attempting to attack an isolated target. Nocturnality is the act of sleeping during the day, scavenging and hunting at night, to avoid being attacked and eaten, simply because many predators have poor night vision. In human terms to make this applicable, we'd be strictly diurnal, where we are out only during daylight hours, and staying in at night. While this is a smart way to generally live, since criminals and predators do their best to avoid committing crimes in broad daylight, again this stops us from living our lives, as we become crippled by fear. This is also unrealistic, as many have night jobs, and can only perform certain functions and errands at night.

   Perhaps the most important evolutionary trait, humans and animals alike have adapted to, is increased vigilance. Many animals like elk have heightened senses. They and other species have formed their own versions of what's known as situational awareness. Situational awareness is the knowledge and understanding of ones current environment. In situational awareness we examine what our environment is composed of, from the number of exists we have available to us, how much open space there is to navigate, who's near us, is anything or anyone out of the ordinary. Everything is taken into account with situational awareness. In Lawrence Kane and Kris Wilder's book, The Little Black Book of Violence, they borrow a color code system from the U.S. Marines used in WWII, to monitor our internal threat levels. Condition White is the first, and symbolizes complete obliviousness to one's surroundings. Condition Yellow is the second, and symbolizes awareness. The user is not panicked, but aware of his surroundings. Condition Orange is the third level and symbolizes a possible threat being made aware of. Condition Orange is about a user deciding whether the possible threat in question, does pose a danger to them or those around them. Condition Red is the final level, and represents a verified bodily threat to you or those around you. Conflict is almost guaranteed at this point. Recognizing your threat level is important in situational awareness. Unlike animals, we are not hardwired and programmed to perceive danger at every corner. Hundreds of thousands of years of being on top of the food chain, holding the top spot as the #1 Apex predator, we have very little reason to be constantly aware, unlike many animals, that maintain a regular condition yellow or orange status. For most humans, day to day life is not a live or die scenario. But because humans rely mainly on ambush as a means of predation, an attack will happen when we least expect it. By simply being aware of our environment, we drastically reduce our chances of becoming victims.
   In conclusion, both man and beast have evolved tactics, that truly do mimic that of an arms race.  Predators in the wild, and many in the human world, do not attack out of malice or contempt. The goal on both ends is survival. Unlike wild species with prearranged pecking orders and places in the food chain, humans are hardwired on both ends of the spectrum. To hunt, and to be hunted. Many species of wildlife seek to avoid situations all together, through tactics, that simply are unrealistic if not completely unknown to us. Unlike predators in the wild, humans are more timid in cowardly in how they handle a hunt. Which is why the tactics of prey with the highest rates of success don't include hiding from the world, but ones of awareness and posturing. Awareness stops a conflict from happening in the first place. Posturing makes it known we won't become targets
   

Sources:

Hasson, Orren. "Pursuit-Deterrent Signals: Communication between Prey and Predator."Trends in Ecology & Evolution 6.10 (1991): 325-329. Print.

Scharf, Inon, Einat Nulman, Ofer Ovadia, and Amos Bouskila. "Efficiency Evaluation of Two Competing Foraging Modes under Different Conditions." The American Naturalist168.3 (2006): n. pag. Web. <http://www.bgu.ac.il/~oferovad/library/Scharf06ForMod.pdf>.

Kane, Lawrence A., and Kris Wilder. The Little Black Book of Violence: What Every Young Man Needs to Know about Fighting. Wolfeboro, NH: YMAA Publication Center, 2009. Print.

Tikkanen, Pertti, Timo Muotka, Arto Huhta, and Antti Juntunen. "The Roles of Active Predator Choice and Prey Vulnerability in Determining the Diet of Predatory Stonefly (Plecoptera) Nymphs." The Journal of Animal Ecology 66.1 (1997): 36. Print.

Clark, Rulon W. "Pursuit-deterrent Communication between Prey Animals and Timber Rattlesnakes (Crotalus Horridus): The Response of Snakes to Harassment Displays."Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 59.2 (2005): 258-61. Print.