Why are predators ‘prudent’ in nature? [HOTS]
Answers
Predators are called prudent because they eat the prey population in a manner that the prey population continues to survive and is not overexploited. It is necessary for the survival of predator population because in absence of preys they will also get extinct sooner or later.
Answer:
All actions take energy. So a predator needs to not waste energy on chasing prey, fighting prey or finding prey if it outweighs the payoff of the energy from eating prey. Besides burning energy, a predator may have to not only fight the prey, but also other predators for the food.
Take felines. Big cats are ambush predators, meaning they pounce on things and only chase them short distances. This conserves energy. They have to find a meal, asses if they can fight the meal, and then try to find a way to attack the meal without expending too much energy. This manifests in the strategy of hiding and watching. Compare opportunity predators to strategic ones.
Not all predators are necessarily prudent BY nature, because of course teeth are teeth and claws are claws and all those do work. Nature isn't streamlined so the smartest always wins. But it certainly helps.