Animal Behaviour when Hunting

[Sundaysmile]

It took me a while to figure out why random fires were breaking out around my area, but as it turns out, the bears and wargs have been attacking Boomrats. 

Calls into question why the predators are even attacking something so inherently dangerous as a furry nuke?  Most animals develop a means of warding off predators or defending themselves (exploding after death is a pretty big defence mechanism...) and most predators learn to appreciate the warning signs, such as unusual or unpleasant odours, bright colouring or defensive posturing. 

Much like how highly poisonous animals like tree frogs go uneaten.


So again I wondered to myself, wouldn't the bears, wargs or the cougars take a better chance with hunting boars than Boomrats/Boomalopes? 
I just find it odd that they'd be so blatantly suicidal as to take a bite and then blow the teeth right out their own skulls...

[JimmyAgnt007]

Sometimes if there is nothing else to eat they will hunt things they know they shouldnt.  Though it shouldnt be on a regular basis, that being said, Ive got a lot of preds on my map and they arnt eating the boomrats at all.

Also, when animals hear a gunshot they should runaway instead of just keep chilling until they are dead.

[Boston]

If Rimworld were the slightest bit realistic, the Boomrats and the Boomalopes would have bred themselves into a population crash and extinction multiple generations ago.

If their characteristics are so prominent so as to prevent predation, (which they really should be, considering they fucking explode), then the only real limit the have on their population is the  carrying capacity of the land itself. They, in essence, become their own predator.

Since no other species would actually attack them, they can breed freely. Their population would explode, and they would eat everything they could. Once they strip the land of vegetation, they either move or die. Probably die, from starvation or starvation-based disease. Once a large portion of the population dies off, the population falls enough where the (now diminished) carrying capacity of the land can support the population again, and the cycle repeats. This repeats until the carrying capacity of the land is depleted enough where it can't support the population anymore, and the species, at least locally, goes extinct.

You see this happen all the time in the "real world", and the animal species (it is a little different with plants) doesn't even have to be all that "dangerous", or be even adept at avoiding predation. If a species is introduced to an environment where there aren't enough limits to their population, the population tends to explode and crash.

(Granted: the above model is extremely simplified for the laypeople in the audience. Food Webs, Eutrophic levels and carrying capacity is quite a bit more complex in reality)

You can see it in New England (a region in the United States). During Colonial times, the settlers killed off most of the wolves and wildcats, and drove off the rest. AS a result, the Whitetail Deer and Turkey populations have exploded, and, assisted by the restrictions on hunting in my state, a majority of the populations of the two above species are now above (in some cases, well above) the carrying capacity of the land to support them. The populations are weak, sickly, malnourished, and not healthy, to say the least. The DCR (Dept. of Conservation and Recreation) have kinda-started thinking about having organized culls, but from my (admittedly limited and only slightly educated) perspective, it might be too-little-too-late.

So, the Whitetail Deer/Turkey populations have exploded, with appropriate results for the human inhabitants (wandering through cities, getting hit by cars [which causes injuries and fatalities to the humans, in all seriousness]), but the population of minor predators has also exploded. Coyotes are now fucking everywhere in Massachusetts, and they are getting bigger, meaner, and more aggressive.

Support conservation and support hunters, folks! If we drive off the other large predators in an ecosystem, we essentially have to replace them with ourselves, or the above happens.

/rant

I also find it weird that in-game, the pawns can walk right up to an animal and make multiple (missing) shots on it, and they don't even give a damn. In "reality", hunting should be much more difficult, and the animals should run away from the pawns.

[Justas love]

Since no animal can 1 shot boomalope then why cant they do it like those very poisonous Comodo Dragons, since they are extremely poisonos they usually just scratch or bite the legs of their prey and then wait till the animal becomes extremely weak. The cougar would bite the boomalope and then wanders off and waits till it bleeds out and explodes.

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[Sundaysmile]

Sometimes if there is nothing else to eat they will hunt things they know they shouldnt.  Though it shouldnt be on a regular basis, that being said, Ive got a lot of preds on my map and they arnt eating the boomrats at all.

Also, when animals hear a gunshot they should runaway instead of just keep chilling until they are dead.

Yeah I agree with the gunshot statement, same with witnessing firespread caused from lightning or explosions.  They should flee from that, not just walk over it without a care.

Adding this sort of behaviour in might make ranching a little more challenging, as you not only have to feed your livestock, but keep them docile.

If Rimworld were the slightest bit realistic, the Boomrats and the Boomalopes would have bred themselves into a population crash and extinction multiple generations ago.

Short version - Give dem hunters some love.

True, assuming we know how often they reproduce, the number of offspring, their lifespan and their susceptibility to illness and disease. 

But you're raising a good point as well.  It would be nice to see more detail in the local fauna.  Things like what seasons they breed or how often they're likely to go into heat.  Males tend to be more aggressive in this phase as they compete for territory and mates, and every hunter knows...  A charging Buck is like being rammed by a car covered in knives. 

Migratory patterns would be a nice addition as well, seeing different stocks of animals move through the area during different seasons, or illnesses and disease affecting livestock that aren't looked after properly or exposed to detrimental environments.

There's a whole lot of depth to this and I think it's worth exploring.

Since no animal can 1 shot boomalope then why cant they do it like those very poisonous Comodo Dragons, since they are extremely poisonos they usually just scratch or bite the legs of their prey and then wait till the animal becomes extremely weak. The cougar would bite the boomalope and then wanders off and waits till it bleeds out and explodes.

More often than not, this happens....

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/mtxe-vnyJms/hqdefault.jpg

[Chibiabos]

Support conservation and support hunters, folks! If we drive off the other large predators in an ecosystem, we essentially have to replace them with ourselves, or the above happens.

Human hunters utterly cannot replace natural predators, because humans are f-cking morons killing for sport and trophies, which causes them to always go after the big buck and pass over the sickly ones.  Deer are bound to go extinct because humans are reversing evolution -- whereas wolves or other predators would go after the weaker or sick prey, meaning the stronger and healthier ones survive to breed, humans hunters completely flip this.  Diseases are running rampant among whitetails, and with every generation they are getting weaker thanks to being buff and strong now leads to early deaths for bucks thanks to human trophy hunters.

Not only that, but with large carnivores removed, the biome changes.  This was a bit of a surprising revelation in Yellowstone when wolves were re-introduced, suddenly there was a surge in trees such as aspen that had all but disappeared over the past 50 years or so since wolves had been exterminated from the park.  Researchers realized that the deer and other big game had become sedentary in the absence of large predators, and would eat and destroy young saplings, but with wolves back they were more on the run and would go after easier foliage, leaving the saplings alone.

Get rid of coyotes and foxes, and you'll see an explosion of mice, rats and smaller vermin.  Every time humans try to pull out a thread of the ecosystem to 'fix' something, they wind up causing a lot of damage.  Mother nature had herself well in balance, we should really stop trying to unbalance her.

[JimmyAgnt007]

Can we not make this political, were talking about Rimworld hunting, not the real thing.