Social Predators

Some interesting thoughts from Dr. John Burchard on the nature of predators. Some ... no, I won't call them names, just some people.. were "warning" potential adopters of the "dual nature" of greyhounds, because, you know, they are capable of that terrible rabbit- ripping coursing (for the record, I have NEVER known a gentler breed of dog than a greyhound-- I didn't say "brighter).

He repled: "...dual natures"??? If so, all dogs have them. Predation runs in that family line all the way back to the age of dinosaurs!

"It is no accident that social predators generally have a more highly evolved social life than non-predators. Hunting for food in large meaty packages (which is the essence of the carnivore's life strategy) brings with it - for example -
the responsibility of bringing home those packages to the female and the helpless young ... behavior typical of almost all Canidae for example, but also e.g. of hawks, etc. A baby hare or gazelle can begin finding its own food within weeks after birth. A baby cheetah, wolf or human has to grow nearly to physical maturity, and be supported by its parent(s) while doing so and while learning how to hunt effectively. There's the origin of the higher forms of social responsibility.

"It is also no accident that the higher intellectual powers of which modern humans are so proud first "took off" - evolutionarily speaking - when our ancestors became the first primarily carnivorous apes ... for about 95% of the duration of the existence of our species on this planet, we lived primarily as hunters of big game.

"So the question "What has Mozart to do with hunting?" has a somewhat more profound implication than just the fact that he wrote a few pieces based on hunting horn signals....

"Without hunting, we wouldn't be here to argue about it."