Richard's Animorphs Forum

Animorphs Section => Animorphs Forum Classic => Topic started by: Darth Zakryn on January 22, 2011, 09:54:27 AM

Title: Killing animals?
Post by: Darth Zakryn on January 22, 2011, 09:54:27 AM

Ok, one thing that has always bothered me about K.A.'s depiction of predators' minds is how they WANT to kill and would prefer killing to eat rather than just eating anything that comes along. That makes NO sense. No animal is going to refuse a free meal if they see it, "predator instincts" be damned.

Anyone have any thoughts on this?
Title: Re: Killing animals?
Post by: Dameg on January 22, 2011, 10:27:10 AM
Some animals don't want to eat dead flesh, they prefer to hunt and kill their food. It's in their instinct...
Title: Re: Killing animals?
Post by: LisaCharly on January 22, 2011, 10:47:35 AM
Have you ever owned cats, Zakryn?
Title: Re: Killing animals?
Post by: Darth Zakryn on January 22, 2011, 10:53:11 AM

Domestic cats that live in the house and don't go outside.
Title: Re: Killing animals?
Post by: NateSean on January 22, 2011, 11:33:54 AM
We had domestic cats. I also had mice.

Need I go any further?
Title: Re: Killing animals?
Post by: LisaCharly on January 22, 2011, 12:20:43 PM
Same here, though I've had outdoor cats. We were way more likely to find a barely gnawed-on mouse corpse than the scraps of a mouse well-eaten.
Title: Re: Killing animals?
Post by: Phoenix004 on January 22, 2011, 03:44:24 PM
Sure if you're a herbivore or scavanger, but predators naturally have the instinct to hunt down their food.
Title: Re: Killing animals?
Post by: Nar Klawip on January 22, 2011, 06:41:15 PM
Most of the outdoor cats I've owned prefered to kill their own prey.
Title: Re: Killing animals?
Post by: TobiasMasonPark on January 23, 2011, 02:36:41 PM
     If I'm not mistaken, cats play with their prey before killing them.
Title: Re: Killing animals?
Post by: Shock on January 23, 2011, 03:16:20 PM
Some animals don't want to eat dead flesh, they prefer to hunt and kill their food. It's in their instinct...

indeed, i know from experience that hawks and eagles will pass up roadkill that they themselves have not created for the vultures.

Title: Re: Killing animals?
Post by: NateSean on January 23, 2011, 03:40:57 PM
     If I'm not mistaken, cats play with their prey before killing them.

I once interfered with a cat that was toying with a chipmunk. I was trying to "save" the chipmunk, but the death glare that cat gave me will haunt me for the rest of my life.
Title: Re: Killing animals?
Post by: TobiasMasonPark on January 23, 2011, 03:52:54 PM
     If I'm not mistaken, cats play with their prey before killing them.

I once interfered with a cat that was toying with a chipmunk. I was trying to "save" the chipmunk, but the death glare that cat gave me will haunt me for the rest of my life.

     I'm actually terrified of cats! All kinds--street cats, house cats, you name it! There's something about them that I find off putting; maybe the way they arch their backs and hiss at anything they find threatening. Everytime I see a cat, I cringe.
Title: Re: Killing animals?
Post by: NateSean on January 23, 2011, 04:02:35 PM
You wouldn't be half-mummy would you? Because mummies hate cats.
Title: Re: Killing animals?
Post by: Lincoln on January 23, 2011, 04:10:01 PM
Cats are evil. My friend owns a cat and every time I sleep over, I'll wake up in the middle of the night with him staring at me--because he wants to EAT ME!!! Cats are not animals, they are the spawns of Satan!

*Composes herself*

Sorry, I hate cats.
Title: Re: Killing animals?
Post by: ThinkAgain on January 23, 2011, 04:23:03 PM
Dolphins - which have a connotation of cute, harmless animals - are also known to kill/toy with prey but not eat it.
Title: Re: Killing animals?
Post by: Nar Klawip on January 23, 2011, 04:30:15 PM
Another thing to keep in mind is that many wild animals now pass up carcasses because they have been poisoned(by farmers) and they know better than to eat them.
Title: Re: Killing animals?
Post by: tobiasthehawk on January 23, 2011, 05:03:59 PM
My cat will chase a bug and eat it more often then it will eat a dead bug that it found in the backyard.
Title: Re: Killing animals?
Post by: Darth Zakryn on January 23, 2011, 08:29:42 PM

You sound like a witch hunter, Lincoln. ::)

Yeah, I know what you mean. My cat Elvis once came into the house carrying a dead bird and flipped it high up in great joy.

Cats - love 'em or leave 'em.

;D
Title: Re: Killing animals?
Post by: Lincoln on January 23, 2011, 10:07:08 PM

You sound like a witch hunter, Lincoln. ::)


Shhh! Don't tell anyone.  ;)
Title: Re: Killing animals?
Post by: Darth Zakryn on January 26, 2011, 03:41:00 PM

EVERYONE! LINCOLN IS A WITCH HUNTER! GRAB THE TORCHES AND PITCHFORKS!

;D
Title: Re: Killing animals?
Post by: VisserZer0 on January 28, 2011, 04:00:56 PM
Oh my. So this is the kind of thing that happens when I leave...

lal
Title: Re: Killing animals?
Post by: BennyBoy on January 31, 2011, 05:12:16 PM
I find the instincts thing a little funny. I'm sure a lot of what K.A. says is true and at the least based on science but the whole predator/prey thing is an example of applying a human representation of things to something we don't have access to. Predators don't think about killing, not the way we do anyway, they mostly just do it when the opportunity arrises.