Date: Thu, 4 Feb 1999 07:22:20 -0500
From: Unka Bart <mendicant-AT-buddhist.com>
Subject: Re: was: Re: baby food; is: who knows?


Scott Spaeth writes:

>Jonathan Kratter wrote:
> >
> > No other species
> >hunts for pleasure.
>
> Actually, the common house cat also hunts for pleasure, as they will quite
> often not eat what they've killed.

That, Scott, mon cher ami, is a common assumption, but one not supported by
any evidence.  It relies upon the unstated premis that pleasure and
immediate consumption are the sole rationale available to a predator for
killing prey species.  One wonders why this assumption is so popular...

Can it be that there no other species who kill prey for *later* consumption?

Does the name, Alligator, ring any bells?

Could it be that some felines (in common with Yer Kindly Ol' Unka Bart,)
have short attention spans and merely forgot that they had some snacks
stashed away, thus leaving them forever uneaten...?

In fact, a quite credible case could be made that some felines kill for
practice, to hone the skills that are absolutely essential to their very
survival.

I used to have an old feral feline buddy who, for the 13.5 years that he
shared my house with me, *never* killed anything that he didn't eat
immediately after taking it directly to the family den (master bedroom).  I
suspect that in his youth (he was at least 9 when he joined forces with us,
according to the vet), he killed for practice enough to get good at it, and
then stopped  expending the energy when it became un-necessary.

Just curious...

Yer Kindly Ol' Unka Bart