Subject: Re: Primal scream
Date: Dec 22 15:40:24 1995
From: Tom Foote - footet at elwha.evergreen.edu


On Thu, 21 Dec 1995, Dennis Paulson wrote:

> >On Thu, 21 Dec 1995, Dennis Paulson wrote:
> >
> >> Some birds, and frogs and rabbits (and perhaps many more animals), emit
> >> ear-piercing shreiks when caught by predators. It has been hypothesized
> >> that a startled predator might release such an animal.
>
> And Tom Foote wrote:
>
> > ..perhaps, but Richard Nelson, Rick Bass and some of the writers
> > who write about the hunt, speculate that the animal's cry is a
> > signal to bring in other predators to finish the job more
> > expeditiously...(in the case of wolves in particular, since
> > Anthropologist Nelson lives in Alaska)
>
> Tom, another hypothesis is that by attracting another (competing) predator,
> the animal might be released. By expeditiously, do you mean the other
> predators will kill the captured animal quicker and spare it pain? No
> natural selection could produce such a response. Perhaps I misunderstood
> your comment.
>
Dennis--

As I understood Nelson, it was the prey animal's willingness to
give up its life that caused it to summon others to complete the
process. I understand that has no scientific basis in fact and
it's probably not what I actually believe. It is, however, only
my assessment of what Nelson speculated about. After all, he was
writing about the spiritual nature of the ritual drama of the
hunt and how that plays out...and what part we have in that..
(which, at this point, as we buy animal body parts neatly wrapped
in plastic at Safeway, is minimal..) My take on Nelson's point was we
are separated from the process and somewhat impoverished by not
being more connected in the slaughter, preparation and transportation
and ultimate consuming of the animals we eat today..


Tom