Persistence hunting is pursuit until the prey can no longer flee and succumbs to
exhaustion
Fatigue describes a state of tiredness that does not resolve with rest or sleep. In general usage, fatigue is synonymous with extreme tiredness or exhaustion that normally follows prolonged physical or mental activity. When it does not resolve ...
or heat stroke.
History and definition
Some researchers have insisted that the point of persistence hunting is not to induce exhaustion but specifically to induce
heat stroke
Heat stroke or heatstroke, also known as sun stroke, is a severe heat illness that results in a body temperature greater than , along with red skin, headache, dizziness, and confusion. Sweating is generally present in exertional heatstroke, ...
.
However, a decade later, they understood persistence hunting to include pursuit until injury or heat stroke or exhaustion; and driving prey to ambushes, natural traps like cliffs and rivers and ravines, or man-made ditches and stakes.
There do not seem to be descriptions which take account of ''heat dissipation theory''.
Hunters
Startled animals respond in characteristic ways that may be effective against animal predators. People learn how prey respond and plan (and prepare themselves) to overcome that response. They learn how to monitor their own condition and stay within their limits, while pushing the prey animal beyond its physiological limits.
Research and discussion about persistence hunting has often been in the context of providing reciprocal support for the
Endurance running hypothesis
The endurance running hypothesis is a series of conjectures which presume humans evolved anatomical and physiological adaptations to run long distances
.
and, more strongly, that "running is the only known behavior that would account for the di ...
. However, hunts are not intended to be a fair contest of endurance. On the contrary, hunters use their knowledge to put the prey animal at every disadvantage. Even proponents "agree that
ersistence huntingis not practiced by the
Hadza and only rarely by
Bushmen and other foragers".
Cheetahs as prey
Cheetahs near
Wajir
Wajir ( so, Wajeer) is the capital of the Wajir County of Kenya. It is situated in the former North Eastern Province.
History
A cluster of cairns near Wajir are generally ascribed by the local inhabitants to the Maadiinle, a semi-legendary pe ...
were preying on Mr Hassan's goat herd each morning. He waited a few hours until the hottest part of the day, when Cheetahs typically rest in the shade. Mr Hassan and 3 youths chased about until they captured the 2 cheetahs.
Cheetahs at hunt have
exceptional speed, acceleration and deceleration — for a few seconds. A typical chase only lasts a minute and
exhausts the cheetah so much that it is forced to rest. On a typical day a cheetah would make a single chase covering 200 to 500 m.
Deer as prey
In
Copper Canyon
Copper Canyon (Spanish: Barrancas del Cobre) is a group of six distinct canyons in the Sierra Madre Occidental in the southwestern part of the state of Chihuahua in northwestern Mexico that is in size. The canyons were formed by six rivers tha ...
once fresh tracks were found, the
deer
Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the re ...
were chased into a trap and clubbed. Either a natural trap: a river, cave, ravine, cliff or rocky ground to injure the animals' hooves; or a man-made trap of sharpened wooden stakes set into the ground and hidden with leaves.
In other words the
Rarámuri
The Rarámuri or Tarahumara is a group of indigenous people of the Americas living in the state of Chihuahua in Mexico. They are renowned for their long-distance running ability.
Originally, inhabitants of much of Chihuahua, the Rarámuri re ...
commonly planned and prepared
game drives.
Less commonly the deer were tracked and chased to exhaustion. The hunters walked and ran at a "steady pace", a gradual
jogging
Jogging is a form of trotting or running at a slow or leisurely pace. The main intention is to increase physical fitness with less stress on the body than from faster running but more than walking, or to maintain a steady speed for longer periods ...
pace. They prepared by drinking
pinole
Pinole, also called pinol or pinolillo, is roasted ground maize, which is then mixed with a combination of cocoa, agave, cinnamon, chia seeds, vanilla, or other spices. The resulting powder is then used as a nutrient-dense ingredient to make d ...
and eating a meal.
Duiker as prey
Hunting by walking was successful for
duiker,
steenbok and even
kudu
The kudus are two species of antelope of the genus '' Tragelaphus'':
* Lesser kudu, ''Tragelaphus imberbis'', of eastern Africa
* Greater kudu, ''Tragelaphus strepsiceros'', of eastern and southern Africa
The two species look similar, th ...
; during the hot dry season, in the
central Kalahari. Fresh duiker hoof tracks were followed at
a steady walk for 3 hours. Even when the animal was seen, rather than make any effort to keep it in sight, the hunter continued along the hoof tracks. The duiker was caught standing head lowered and tongue hanging out. The hunter walked up to it and clubbed it with a digging stick.
Kudu as prey
Several
kudu
The kudus are two species of antelope of the genus '' Tragelaphus'':
* Lesser kudu, ''Tragelaphus imberbis'', of eastern Africa
* Greater kudu, ''Tragelaphus strepsiceros'', of eastern and southern Africa
The two species look similar, th ...
hunts were performed, in the
central Kalahari, for the documentary television program
The Life of Mammals
''The Life of Mammals'' is a nature documentary series written and presented by David Attenborough, first transmitted in the United Kingdom from 20 November 2002.
A study of the evolution and habits of the various mammal species, it was the fo ...
.
The hunters prepared by drinking as much water as they could. The hunters searched for fresh tracks using a four-wheel-drive vehicle until they saw kudu and then hunted on foot; sometimes walking, sometimes running. The objective was to illustrate how they would perform persistence hunting, not to demonstrate that they could — so the hunters refilled their water bottles from the vehicle during the hunt. The hunters averaged for 4 to 5 hours, in temperatures of to .
Persistence hunting is chosen when conditions are right: when there are prey animals already weakened by illness or injury or hunger or thirst; when tracking will be easier. Weaker kudu usually break away from the herd to hide. Predators may follow the stronger scent of the herd, giving the hidden animal a chance to escape. With that knowledge hunters look for tracks away from the herd and follow the weaker animal.
Pronghorn as prey
Modern examples:
* The
pronghorn
The pronghorn (, ) (''Antilocapra americana'') is a species of artiodactyl (even-toed, hoofed) mammal indigenous to interior western and central North America. Though not an antelope, it is known colloquially in North America as the American a ...
run very quickly for a quarter mile, sometimes a half mile, stop and stare until the runners catch up, and then take off again. The animals run in a broad clockwise arc, so the runners can take a shortcut straight across the arc and get within 50 yards. But the herd splits and merges until they can't tell whether they're chasing animals that have run for two minutes or 20 minutes or two hours. They chase on and off for two days without success.
* The fastest runner has a 2:10 marathon and the slowest a 2:45. They have come together to chase pronghorn across the New Mexico
short-grass prairie on a day. After trailing a pronghorn buck for two hours they abruptly come across the animal 50 feet away, with a group of does. They close to 25 feet and the animal sprints away. After another five miles it merges with a herd and slips away.
* The fifth year trying to run down a pronghorn and after a dozen miles, even running sub-six-minute miles, they lose him. He blames the lack of heat and too many animals. A big herd gives opportunities for them to splinter into smaller groups, then rejoin again. Even if it had been 100 degrees, he probably wouldn’t have been able to separate one from the group.
Why it works
* The hunter chooses a pace they can maintain; the prey animal flees fast to escape a predator animal.
* The hunter carries water; the prey animal has no water.
* The hunter follows the hoof tracks of a single individual; the prey animal cannot stay hidden or rest in the herd.
African wild dogs
African wild dogs have been described as cooperative persistence predators and there's been a popular perception of large packs chasing down large antelope over long distances across open grass plains.
More recent observations from a different area, show they hunt opportunistically with short high-speed chases after medium-size prey, and rely on sharing kills.
The problem of heat dissipation may limit prey animals more than African wild dogs. On hotter days, successful chases were shorter. Temperature differences did not seem to influence the dawn and dusk pattern of wild dog hunts; instead, the relevant factors may include light conditions and the need to avoid scavengers.
See also
*
Tracking (hunting)
Tracking in hunting and ecology is the science and art of observing animal tracks and other signs, with the goal of gaining understanding of the landscape and the animal being tracked (the "quarry"). A further goal of tracking is the deeper und ...
*
Endurance running hypothesis
The endurance running hypothesis is a series of conjectures which presume humans evolved anatomical and physiological adaptations to run long distances
.
and, more strongly, that "running is the only known behavior that would account for the di ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Persistence Hunting
Hunting methods
History of hunting
Human evolution
Behavioral ecology
Predation