Re: lions, chimps and sticks

H. M. Hubey (hubey@pegasus.montclair.edu)
17 Oct 1995 08:43:47 -0400

rtravsky@UWYO.EDU (Rich Travsky) writes:

>The chimp's strength has been established. Tho smaller than a human,
>they can easily knock one down.

Knocking a man down doesn't have to be done like a boxer. It depends
on the momentum of the hitter, and that depends on velocity
and mass so lots of animals can knock a man down.

>But we're talking about defense against four legged predators,
>not humans.

Those animals don't know what throwing motions mean. it
won't scare them and won't work as a defense.

>How about _many_ stray rocks, thrown by many chimps/humans? Being

I'd have to test the accuracy of chimps first. They don't
exactly seem set up to be baseball pitchers.

Finding rocks on the grassy plains is kind of hard.

>you? All I have to do is reach to the ground and pretend to pick up
>a rock. Response: the dog stops his advance or even backs up.
>Predators are no less capable of making this association.

It's strange to find dogs bevave this way unless it's
already been pelted with rocks. Maybe it has to do with
your motions and not with the pretense of picking up rocks
unless of course, this particular dog has already been
pelted by all the joggers in the neihghborhood.

>In the plains? Assuming they traveled alone, instead of the
>groups they are found in, then yes a chimp is at the same
>disadvantage any lone animal would find itself in...

It doesn't matter. I'll bet on the hyenas and lions any
day of the week and twice on Sundays.

>The same can be told of early peoples and their relations with
>predators. It must be effective since they survived...

We don't know where they survived. Isn't that what the
discussion is about.

-- 





				Regards, Mark

				http://www.smns.montclair.edu/~hubey