Current Events > I don't get why animals play dead and get away with it

(+) Yeah! (+)

like wouldnt the lion or whatever its playing dead from just be like oooh a free meal and eat the fucker??

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It's their instinct that makes them attack their prey.

Do you think your cat really thinks he's going to eat the laser pointer?

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You don't want to eat old meat that has just been laying around .

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It probably works a lot less than it succeeds and the animals that usually use such tactics use it as a last resort because they are too scared / weak to successfully fight or escape from a predator in the first place. In a way, it's incredibly ballsy for a animal to ever attempt such a thing as they are completely dropping their defenses and leaving themselves open to taking a lethal injury. I mean, if it fails and the predator just starts tearing into you, all you've accomplished is making yourself easier to kill, and since you're likely to flinch in pain, it's only going to expose your bluff and make it go hard to really finish the job. I really don't think this tactic works on lions though. I've heard it can work on some bears though.

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cjsdowg posted...

You don't want to eat old meat that has just been laying around .

If "fell dead" in front of you, it's not really "old meat" though

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TC watches daily dose of internet

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Yeah, JimCarrysToe posted that video earlier.

In that it supposedly did work on a lion.

But it does confuse me, as they are perfectly willing to steal kills that are little more than scraps. Or, to eat things that have been dead and rotten for a long time. This is the case for either bears or lions.

Is it really as well thought out as here is something that looks like it died for no reason, that can't be safe?

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Brilliant posted...

Yeah, JimCarrysToe posted that video earlier.

In that it supposedly did work on a lion.

But it does confuse me, as they are perfectly willing to steal kills that are little more than scraps. Or, to eat things that have been dead and rotten for a long time. This is the case for either bears or lions.

Is it really as well thought out as here is something that looks like it died for no reason, that can't be safe?

was it a young lion? Theyd be much easier to confuse by this.

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Wii_Shaker posted...

It's their instinct that makes them attack their prey.

Do you think your cat really thinks he's going to eat the laser pointer?

Yes

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They don't want to eat something that's potentially sick or diseased, which they could catch. They also largely attack humans because of a territorial thing. Technically being dead is out of their territory.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eatitnERko

@2:17 looks like a fully grown female to me

My point earlier is that they eat dead stuff all the time, the only time it seems to be an issue is with freshly dead unmarked and uninjured creatures.

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It deters a predator that isn't hungry but will kill you for aggression or encroaching their territory.

Btw, humans are an animal that play dead too against other human aggressors and it can work.

Eliza3 posted...

TC watches daily dose of internet

You got me

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animals aren't machines. they have feelings, emotions, and moods that change wildly. not every time an animal attacks, it wants to eat. sometimes it just wants to murder something that's alive. can't murder something that's already dead, though, that's no fun.

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I think if you see something full of life suddenly drop dead you may be afraid it's diseased or even poisoned.

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Prey: *dies suddenly*
Lion: Hello naw, that's some cursed stuff right there, I'm out.

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