Re: AAT Theory

David L Burkhead (r3dlb1@dax.cc.uakron.edu)
6 Oct 1995 03:46:23 GMT

In article <hubey.812842556@pegasus.montclair.edu> hubey@pegasus.montclair.edu (H. M. Hubey) writes:
>r3dlb1@dax.cc.uakron.edu (David L Burkhead ) writes:

[ 8< ]

>On a scale of 0-100 of no lion has ever hunted in a group we
>give it a zero, if no lion has ever hunted alone we give it
>a ranking of 100. So on this scale I'd give lions, wolves,
>wild dogs, and hyenas somewhere around 80-95. Cheetahs
>hunt alone. So do leopards.

Assigning a number does not make it any more valid than any of
your other claims. You can _assign_ any number you want. It's,
essentially, meaningless.

>This is a simple way to avoid arguments over words. Give me
>your number and let's ask others to vote; that'll take care
>of the useless argument.

This may come as a shock to you, but science is _not_ determined
by "majority rule." Voting is a worthless method for determining
scientific issues.

>> BTW, since you mention wolves, healthy wolves, in the wild, will
>>not attack humans except under _extreme_ provocation. This has been
>
>It's probably because the size looks bigger. It can also be due
>to the fact that they're not used to hunting humans and are
>probably not sure of what to do. I don't think a human poses
>a greater threat to a wolf [--an unarmed human] than an
>antelope or a bison.

Size cannot be an issue, since wolves _do_ bring down full grown
elk and caribou--both of which are larger than a human.

Also, animals wolves _are_ known to take (such as domestic
livestock) are animals that they would not be "used to hunting" when
introduced into an area, yet they are quickly added to lupine diets.

And your assumption of lone, unarmed human is a straw man since,
in general, humans don't come singly, and in wild country they
generally don't come unarmed. That's the whole point of this
discussion. A lone, unarmed, human is easy prey for most large
predators, but then so is a lone, unarmed chimpanzee. But in groups,
with weapons available (even if those weapons are only sticks and
rocks) the situation changes drastically. Predators _don't_ mess with
chimpanzee groupings any more than they mess with human groupings
(very little in both cases unless driven by desperation or some other
extraordinary factor).

David L. Burkhead
r3dlb1@dax.cc.uakron.edu
d.l.burk@ix.netcom.com

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