991
All downhill from there (media.piefed.social)
submitted 2 days ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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[-] [email protected] 52 points 2 days ago

Persistence predation is the only way I can manage to take my cats to the vet.

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[-] [email protected] 68 points 2 days ago

I was playing tag with my kid yesterday. He's 3, almost 4. He's very fast for his age, but not as fast as me. He asked to play tag because he just learned it in school. I could dodge to the side as he was getting close and change direction. I could fake him out. I could sprint to the other side of our 1 acre meadow to creat space. But he just kept coming. Smiling and laughing the whole time. I'm starting to get winded. Hands on my knees for a second after a sprint, but only for a second as he's closed the gap already. His undeterred motivation and pace was scary. He was going to get me eventually, and he seemed to know it.

I now know how the victims of Chucky must have felt.

[-] [email protected] 25 points 2 days ago

Fun fact: the guy who first proposed this "running man" hypothesis about persistence hunting in the late 1960s (Grover Krantz) was better known as a staunch advocate for the existence of Bigfoot. Personally, I can't believe that anybody could still believe in Bigfoot - it's so obviously just a Yeti in a gorilla suit.

For some weird reason, Krantz's skeleton and that of his favorite dog are on display at the Smithsonian.

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[-] [email protected] 191 points 2 days ago

Imagine being hunted and killed by a team of power walkers.

[-] [email protected] 182 points 2 days ago
[-] [email protected] 156 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

You know, this is actually the type of fear that the zombie horror genre really reverses back on us. Classic zombies are not fast. They're not smart. They can't run, climb, or plan elaborate traps. They have no sharp claws or terrifyingly large teeth. You can outrun them at a brisk walk.

But what makes them so dangerous is that they're relentless. If they get your scent, they'll follow you and keep following you. Blow their legs off and they'll crawl towards you. Remove all their limbs and they'll slither like a snake towards you. Only destroying their brain can stop them.

If you're on foot, it is virtually impossible to escape them, as they'll just keep on coming. And while you need to sleep, they don't. They can just keep right on shuffling towards you 24/7. If on foot being chased by a zombie, your best bet is probably to find a river you can swim across that will sweep them away. Oh, and of course, they are rarely alone.

Zombies are predators that turn our species's natural hunting strategy back upon us.

[-] [email protected] 41 points 2 days ago

Similarly the Terminator is ceaseless but does run, jump, climb etc. Our own hunting strategy, but perfected by machines. Even more tireless and persistent.

[-] [email protected] 8 points 2 days ago

I thought it was the swarm that was what is so dangerous rather than being relentless. A single zombie is usually shown as weak and pretty easy to kill.

[-] [email protected] 15 points 2 days ago

Not really related, but it makes me sad that this isn't easily possible in Project Zomboid. It's the exact sort of feeling I want from it.

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[-] [email protected] 139 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

Pursuit predation/persistence hunting has to be one of the most metal characteristics about humans.

[-] [email protected] 80 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

https://ourworldindata.org/quaternary-megafauna-extinction

The timing of megafauna extinctions was not consistent across the world; instead, the timing of their demise coincided closely with the arrival of humans on each continent.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[-] [email protected] 31 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

You're missing a \.

There have been many extinction events in Earth’s history. There have been five big mass extinction events and several smaller ones.

There have now been many studies focused on the question of whether humans were a key driver of the QME. Many suggest that the answer is yes. Climatic changes might have driven an initial decline in large mammal populations — small population crashes — but human pressures are likely to have thwarted their recovery. Large mammals survived previous periods of climatic change, but the arrival of humans put pressure on already-depleted populations.

[-] [email protected] 13 points 2 days ago

\ is the escape character in markdown. Gotta do a double \ and then another \ for the underscore

 ¯\\\_(ツ)_/¯ =

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

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[-] [email protected] 17 points 2 days ago

What I never got about this theory is, fine, you run after the Ptadgedrwgydon for 87kms, when it gives up due to exhaustion and you kill it with a stone. What now? You're 87kms away with a carcass that weighs 500kg, how do you get back the food to the tribe?

[-] [email protected] 21 points 2 days ago

This is how we learned to be nomads. Kill big thing, bring camp to big thing, hang out until big thing is all eaten.

[-] [email protected] 21 points 2 days ago

The tribe can walk.

[-] [email protected] 8 points 2 days ago

Group hunting for mega-fauna. Partial field-processing of remains, beyond a dressing.

idk, moose hunters might still. Is there a moose hunter at the forum today..?

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[-] [email protected] 5 points 2 days ago

That's probably part of the reason why the evidence of persistence hunting being used as an actual hunting technique, compared to ambush hunting or trapping is incredibly slim. And that's the reason why there's really no scientific consensus that persistence hunting was a major thing at all.

[-] [email protected] 9 points 2 days ago

This is how Komodo Dragons hunt, too.

[-] [email protected] 3 points 1 day ago

I figured they chased them in a big circle. Or did laps. Or anything other than a completely straight line.

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[-] [email protected] 35 points 2 days ago

Also our accuracy and reach when throwing stuff.

Especially when combined with our ability to make stuff sharp by banging it against other stuff and breaking it just the right way.

[-] [email protected] 10 points 2 days ago

And THEN add to that that once you got hit with the spear and are running slower, a wolf just appears and starts hunting you too.

Imagine being hunted by 2 different apex predators working together

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[-] [email protected] 17 points 2 days ago

That would be a terrifying way to die.

Wasn't that the premise of the Slenderman video game?

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[-] [email protected] 44 points 2 days ago

We are the snail

[-] [email protected] 107 points 2 days ago

Humans' ability to sweat is something outstanding.

[-] [email protected] 62 points 2 days ago

That what I keep saying, but people still seem thoroughly unimpressed by my ability to sweat profusely the moment I get a little hot!

[-] [email protected] 35 points 2 days ago

Interviewer: What would you say is your biggest strength?

Me:

[-] [email protected] 24 points 2 days ago

Sweating is such a powerful ability for humans when compared to the animal kingdom. I mean, not only does my sweat keep me cool, I can clear out an entire room with it if it's a little too hot!

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[-] [email protected] 32 points 2 days ago

The other advantage we have while running is that we're not constantly slamming our intestines into our other vital organs and lungs because we're upright.

Humans can out-distance a horse. A fucking HORSE. Incredible animal the oul' human.

[-] [email protected] 34 points 2 days ago

Humans can out-distance a horse

Speak for yourself, I cannot out distance a hamster lately.

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[-] [email protected] 23 points 2 days ago

isnt this a diprotodon, which is the largest marsupial in australia, in the vombatiforms.

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[-] [email protected] 7 points 2 days ago

Inside you there are two snails...

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this post was submitted on 07 Jul 2025
991 points (99.0% liked)

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