Hartebeest under attack?
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eugenius
Are there two predators hanging on or does the hartebeest grow a fur coat?
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wildebeesty
why is every one so bloodthirsty!, the hartebeest wouldn't be so calm if it was under attack.
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mistyfriday
I believe it's because wildlife programs on TV choose to center their programs on the chase and then the kill for the excitement they think it brings, therefore viewers have the idea that animals running, or those of different species together have to be involved in a hunt! It really causes us to have a perverted view of nature/wildlife. I believe it is deceptive and most unfortunate. We tend to think because it's a nature show it has to be true, not stopping to think it also can be distorted by those making it. They can tweak a bit here and there to change things or just emphasize what they wish and we perceive it as truth. Just saying!
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sisige
I don't think that the nature shows are so much distorted, as just selective. As you said, they pick out the high drama moments of the chase and kill (or escape). I think what we see here is that while the prey animals are usually on some level of alert (think of zebras side by side facing opposite ways, or resting wildebeest under a tree where some individuals are always standing), the vast majority of their time is spent getting food (either grazing or chewing the cud/digesting). The camera traps capture pictures day in and day out, so they cover the full spectrum of activity. And in that spectrum, hunts and chase scenes are a very small slice.
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mistyfriday
Sisige, I don't know where you live. I'm in USA. There was a new program on in I believe the spring, Something like Wild Animals Of North America. If my memory serves me correctly, for each species they showed there was the chase and kill and minimal information say about their habitat, mating ritual if any, co-existence with other species, etc. Now, to be honest I don't know how often each of those animals they showed eat but I do know not all carnivores eat daily. By their selective showing what I am suggesting is that it leads viewers to believe animals are constantly on the hunt/killing/eating. Currently we basically are a society of city-dwellers now. People aren't used to being around any wildlife and don't know their routines. What they see in presentations, is what they believe about animal's lives.. And unless it terribly interests them, they will not look it up to gain information. If they do look it up for the most part the info has to be presented in an interesting, fast, or dramatic way, not in a book, or by reading it in some other way. We are used to being entertained. I understand what you are saying about being selective, but I think that their being selective has caused a distortion of reality. Unfortunately the shows don't have the camera traps sitting there to catch all of the animals in co-existence and the apparent nothingness that seems to goes on. Perhaps the nature programs should offer some sort of disclaimer at the beginning of a program informing viewers that this is a segment pulled from their day. They also spend time doing . . . and list some of their activities. I probably ask for too much!
I for one am thankful I have found this site. I am interested in learning and have learned much identifying the animals, reading people's comments, discussions and the blogs. It has stimulated me to do other investigations to find out more.
I was just giving my thoughts on the question above about why is everyone so bloodthirsty?
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sisige
For the most part, @mistyfriday, I wasn't disagreeing with you. I absolutely agree that by only showing part of the picture, shows like that give an inaccurate representation of the day-to-day life of animals in the wild. The only distinction I was trying to make was to suggest that the footage they present isn't necessarily false, i.e. it captures real events happening unprompted/unmanipulated in the wild; the issue is more that it is so incomplete that the viewer is left with the impression that you can step off the tour bus, so to speak, and watch a chase scene unfolding in front of your eyes every minute of every day wherever you go "in the wild." So yes, it is distorted; I was just saying the distortion comes from how selective they are in what they choose to show, rather than an intentional distortion of the footage itself.
Really, I'm sure there's some level of distortion in all nature programming. (When's the last time you saw an hour long show on wildebeest that featured them standing around grazing for three-quarters of it?) This discussion makes me think of some of the great documentaries that the BBC/Discovery Channel (and others?) have put out in recent years. There was a series a few months ago on Africa where they covered the wildlife in several different habitats across the continent. And at the end of each episode they had a few minutes on the work involved in capturing the footage. A 5 minute scene talking about a reclusive nocturnal primate, for example, might have taken weeks of trudging out into the jungle with the cameras and climbing gear every day just to find one to film. (Incidentally, they also showed the issues they had trying to capture the elephants gathering at night in a clearing; the elephants kept ripping down the cameras!) Point being that even if the producers have the best of intentions, we're still only ever going to see a tiny slice of these animals' lives. And the slice we see is going to be limited by what the producers think will be interesting and what they are able to capture. I do wish, though (as I'm sure you do), that they gave us a bit more credit and broadened their coverage to include more of the less dramatic moments of life.
And for the record, I'm in Wisconsin (though I was born and spent my childhood in Kenya). 😃
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eugenius
in response to wildebeesty's comment.
Sorry to offend WIldebeesty, I was just asking a question. The animal is running; it doesn't seem calm to me!
I gather from Sisige's comments and others' that it is indeed being attacked by two predators. If that is so,
can we tell which predators? Young lions, perhaps?Posted
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lucycawte
moderator
The picture shows a hartebeest walking, it isn't being attacked, it has a paler coat on the rump, maybe this is what you see as an animal attacking it?
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mistyfriday
@eugenius If you are referring to my comments no, I was not saying it was under attack. Another commentator asked why people are so bloodthirsty. Many have asked when they see animals running if they are under attack, or similar questions. I was giving my opinion on possibly why we think that way. They could just be moving because they were spooked. Sometimes in a dark pic when you can ID 1 animal & the rest are just light reflected in eyes the lone animal is viewed as prey. In reality it is one of the same animals just standing nearer the camera & away from the others. For some reason our brain's interpretation in hunter/prey. I was exploring my thoughts on why it could be happening. No offense meant toward anyone, but I saw NO attack.
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sisige
@eugenius, all questions and comments are always welcome, and I think the response and the whole discussion that followed were intended in a more lighthearted tone than perhaps you took them. 😃
Personally, I was responding to the related question about why users of this site are more inclined to see predators rather than herd-mates lurking in the darkness. It's a question that comes up frequently, and I happened to chose this discussion to share my thoughts.
As for this particular picture, while the hartebeest is indeed moving, it looks more like a trot than a gallop to me, which suggests it's just going somewhere, rather than running away. I didn't see any signs of a predator.
That said, we all run into pictures that we have a hard time figuring out, which is why it's so nice that we can share them with the rest of the community and solicit input from others. I hope you won't hesitate to do so again in the future. 😃
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wildebeesty
in response to eugenius's comment.
sorry eugenius if I seemed mean and unfriendly, I posted that comment because I am tired of seeing every one make a big drama out of a thing that seems so simple and calm to me 😃. I hope I didn't hurt your feelings
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