Emma Stewart Writes

Tag: creature features

  • Creature Features: Snakes Cultural Impact

    Creature Features: Snakes Cultural Impact

    Snake’s Cultural Impact

    Photograph of a cobra with its hood raised.
    © Patrick JEAN / muséum d’histoire naturelle de Nantes, Attribution, via Wikimedia Commons

    Let’s discuss the cultural impact of snakes. Snakes form an important part of many cultures in the world, both modern and historical. Ophidiophobia (phobia of snakes) is commonplace. Last week, we discussed the potential dangers certain snakes pose. The main risks include venomous bites and the largest constrictors. Non-venomous snakes are not a threat to humans.

    Snake Charming

    You will know this from various cartoons and movies. Snake charming is an Indian roadside show where the charmer plays a flute-like instrument and the snake responds to the music. Typically, the Indian cobra species.

    The snake is actually responding to the movement of the instrument, they lack external ears so they don’t hear in the conventional sense. Animal welfare laws prohibit snake charming.

    Snake Catchers

    The Irula tribe from India have been catching snakes for generations professionally. The snake skin industry was outlawed in 1972. The Irula tribe now catch the snakes to milk their venom. The venom is collected and used for producing antivenom, biomedical research and other medicinal products.

    There are modern day experts elsewhere in the world, who specialise in catching snakes both for study and to remove them from homes and property.

    Consumption

    Many people eat snakes, especially in Asia: China, Taiwan, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam and Cambodia. Snakes are believed to have health benefits and aphrodisiac properties. Snake wine, which is wine infused with whole snakes, is used in Chinese traditional medicine.

    Pets

    People keep snakes as pets, especially the more docile smaller snakes like the corn snake and the ball python. Snakes require specialist housing for optimum health but usually only need fed once every week or two. You need to seek expert veterinary care for snakes as well, not all vets are knowledgable or comfortable handling them.

    Symbolism and Mythology of Snakes

    Ancient Mesopotamia

    Nirah means ‘little snake’ in Sumerian. Nirah is a messenger god and may be lord of the underworld. Sumerian art features representations of two intertwined serpents. Ancient deities iconography in Assyria and Babylon feature snakes.

    Hopi Tribe of Arizon

    The Hopi Native American tribe celebrate snakes as a symbol of fertility. They release snakes into the fields to guarantee good crops. So they represent the umbilical cord joining all humans to mother Earth.

    Egypt

    Ancient Egyptian iconography commonly incorporates snakes. The Nile Cobra adorns the crown of the pharaoh. Snake iconography associated with Ra, Wadjet, Renenutet, Nehebkau and Meretseger.

    More sinister purposes for snakes exist in Ancient Egypt – using them to murder an adversary or to comit a ritual suicide. Cleopatra is famous for allowing an asp (Egyptian Cobra) to bite her, according to popular belief.

    Ouroboros

    Found in Ancient Egyptian iconography and Greek magical tradition, the symbol of a snake eating its own tail. Gnosticism, Hermeticism and alchemy adopted the ouroboros icon.

    The ouroboros represents the eternal cyclic renewal, or a cycle of life, death and rebirth. Snake’s shed their skin as they grow, hence this is representative of the transmigration of souls or immortality.

    The act of biting its own tail is a fertility symbol in some religions: the tail is a phallic symbol and the mouth is a yonic or womb-like symbol. So, the ouroborous represents sexual intercourse and reproduction.

    Ancient Greece: Medusa

    The legend of Medusa depicts a monster with snakes for hair that can turn those who look at her into stone. The hero Perseus slayed Medusa. She had two sisters, Stheno and Euryale who were both gorgons as well. Her image symbolises warding off evil.

    In Ovid’s Metamorphoses the tale of Medusa is a bit different by comparison. Medusa, a priestess of Athena and suffered sexual assault by Poseidon, the god of the sea. Athena turned her into a gorgon after this. Some say as punishment, others believe it was so she could protect herself. Because of this, Medusa is an important symbol for sexual assault survivors in the modern day.

     Asclepius

    The Greek god of healing, Asclepius, represented by a rod or staff with a serpent wrapped around it. The sick and injured went to Asclepius’ temples for healing and care. Hence, the staff of Asclepius became a symbol for medicine.

    Similarly, Hermes’ staff, Caduceus has wings and two serpents intertwined around it. With a V included in the symbol, it represents veterinary medicine. Hermes was messenger to the Olympian gods.

    India

    Indian traditions and deities feature snakes a lot. Shiva has a cobra around the neck. Vishnu is sometimes depicted as sleeping on a seven-headed snake or within the coils of a serpent.

    Temples dedicated to cobras called Nagraj are common. Snakes symbolise fertility and people celebrate them during the Hindu festival of Nag Panchami.

    China

    The Chinese Zodiac features snakes as one of the twelve celestial animals. 2025 is the year of the snake, hence my choice of topic for this month. Snakes associate with traits like intelligence and unscrupulousness. Ancient China related snakes to the river deities.

    Christianity and Judaism

    The Garden of Eden

    We can’t talk about snakes in culture and society without discussing this. In the book of Genesis, a serpent tempts Eve to eat the forbidden fruit from the Tree of Knowledge. God throws Adam and Eve out of the Garden as punishment and this confers the concept of ‘Original Sin’ on humanity. Whether you believe it or not, nobody can deny the importance of this story on shaping our society and culture. Genesis doesn’t name the serpent, but it is a common belief that the serpent is the Devil.

    Moses

    In the book of Exodus, Moses turns his staff into a snake as proof of God’s power. In the book of Kings, God instructed Moses to create the Nehushtan – a bronze snake on a pole that cured people of snake bites in the desert.

    Satan

    The final book in the New Testament, the book of Revelation contains the final mention of serpents in the Bible. There, serpents are symbolic of Satan, the fallen angel who tempts people towards sin. He plays a role in the apocalypse described by the book of Revelation.

    It’s clear that snakes represent evil and sin in Christianity. There is less of this in Judaism and Islam.

    Conclusion

    It’s clear that snakes play an important role in a lot of cultures. They can symbolise fertility, the cycle of life, rebirth, evil and temptation. People fear and revere snakes across the world. Often maligned and misunderstood, yet they have played an important role in shaping society as it is today.

    However, snakes also represent healing, recovery and caring for people and animals alike. I love snakes, they are fascinating creatures and get a bad rap. They have personalities, unique abilities and an important place in the ecosystem.

    I hope you enjoyed this summary of the snakes cultural impact and why they matter so much. They have a number of representations which you can use in your writing to symbolise different things. As always, if you have any thoughts or questions, I’d love to hear them.

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  • Creature Features: Snake Senses and Physiology

    Creature Features: Snake Senses and Physiology

    Snake Senses and Physiology

    Snake Eyes

    Close up view of a python's face showing an orange eye with a slit pupil and the labial pits
    Python Close Up showing eyes and labial pits
    Alias 0591 from the Netherlands, CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

    No, not when you roll a one on a dice. Actual snake eyes, on actual snakes. We’re talking about snake senses and physiology. Snakes generally have good vision, some of them have slitted pupils like cats. All snakes lack eyelids, instead they have a clear scale covering the eye called the spectacle.

    You can tell if a snake is due to shed its skin because the eyes go cloudy. Fluid is secreted under the old skin to lift it off to be shed, and this causes the cloudiness. Snakes are vulnerable during this process so they can be more aggressive than usual if disturbed as they are blind.

    Some snakes also have the ability to ‘see’ infrared to find prey in the dark. Pythons, boas and pit vipers have indentations on their upper lips called the ‘labial pits’ which sense infrared. The image shows the little holes along the top lip of the snake, these are the labial pits. Each group of species evolved these things separately, and they are also believed to play a role in temperature regulation as well as hunting. Like night-vision goggles essentially, isn’t that cool?

    Snake Tongue and Sense of Smell

    Snakes use their tongues to detect scents. So when you see their little forked tongue flicker out, that’s what they’re doing. Most people know this. The tongue collects airborne particles and feeds them to the ‘vomeronasal organ’ also known as the ‘Jacobson’s organ’ inside the mouth. This organ is present in most animals, but not humans and aids in scent detection, especially pheromones. So it’s important for detecting prey, predators and potential mates.

    Snake Skin

    Snake skin is highly specialised to protect their bodies and provide grip for their unique form of movement. Lacking legs means that snakes must move flat along the ground, so their scales help them grip the surfaces. Many species can make use of this to climb trees as well and even smoother surfaces to an extent.

    A colourful rainbow boa that is wrapped around tree branches showing the scales of a snake's skin.
    Rainbow Boa showing it’s beautiful scales
    Damien Farrell, CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

    Snakes are covered in scales – some are smoother, others are ‘keeled’, meaning they have a ridge down the centre. Their dorsal scales, the upper body scales, are usually loosely diamond-shaped and arranged in interlocking rows. Their ventral scales (belly scales) are usually singular and wide until the vent, after which they are paired until the end of the tail.

    Ecdysis means shedding of the skin. This is something all snakes go through as they grow. Younger snakes will shed more frequently than older snakes. The process takes a bit of time. The new scales grow underneath, and fluid lifts off the old scales.

    This is when the spectacle goes cloudy. The snake will not feed during this process, but usually will feed soon after. Normally the snake sheds its skin in one long piece. They rub their chin on something rough like a rock or tree, and slowly wiggle their way out of the skin.

    Rattlesnakes have a unique set of scales on the end of their tails. They build up from previous sheds and form a hardened collection of scales which makes a sound when shaken. They use this as a warning to predators, and it gives them the name.

    Reproduction

    Snakes reproduce sexually, with internal fertilisation. Most species lay a clutch of eggs, which are left to hatch and fend for themselves. Some species stay with the eggs and care for them until they hatch, like pythons.

    A few species are classed as ‘ovoviviparous’, which means they keep the eggs inside until they hatch and are ‘born’. So this is a kind of inbetween egg layers and live birthers, if you will. Rattlesnakes are an example of this.

    There are a couple of species that have true live births. The boa constrictor and green anaconda both have placentas as well as yolk sacs for their young and give birth to live snakes. They don’t produce eggs.

    A phenonemon called parthenogenesis is seen in a couple of snake species. Parthenogenesis is a form of asexual reproduction, where a female animal can produce fertile eggs without mating. Copperheads and Cottonmouths are capable of this, although they can also do it the old-fashioned way.

    Feeding Snakes

    Snakes are carnivores and eat animals, occasionally eggs but mostly smaller animals. They eat their prey whole and take a while to digest their meal. Some even eat other snakes in some cases. Snakes can’t bite off or chew their food, and are specialised towards this as discussed last week.

    Snakes tend to be ambush predators and will strike quickly to catch their prey. Venomous snakes bite and inject venom to kill their prey before eating it. Other snakes will use constriction – wrapping their bodies around the prey and squeezing it until it dies before they slowly swallow it.

    A cobra demonstrating it's hood which is used in aggression.
    Cobra showing it’s hood
    © Patrick JEAN / muséum d’histoire naturelle de Nantes, Attribution, via Wikimedia Commons

    They then go and rest to digest their prey. Ideally they would keep their body temperature around 30 °C (86 °F) and as they are ectothermic they will move to a location to keep their temperature around that level. It takes some time to digest but they can digest everything but hair, feathers and claws. These indigestible parts are excreted within the faeces of the snake. Snakes don’t eat often, depending on the species and size of the previous meal this can range from once a week to a couple of times a year! Younger snakes need to eat more frequently so they have energy for growth. In captivity it’s important not to overfeed snakes. But they can also go a long time without food as well, over a year in some cases.

    Thanks for reading!

    Thanks for reading this rundown of snake senses and physiology. Next week we’re going to talk about venomous snakes and the dangers snakes can pose to us. If you missed the first part, you can read about snake anatomy here. Don’t forget to subscribe to be updated when a new post is live and find me on my social media channels.

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  • Creature Features: Colour Strategies

    Creature Features: Colour Strategies

    Survival Strategies Using Colour

    A tarantula hawk wasp sitting on some plants and showing the brilliant colouration of some insects. It has a blue-green iridescent body with bright orange wings.
    Tarantula Hawk Wasp

    Animals use colour strategies in all kinds of ways to avoid being detected, eaten or to express themselves in some way. Some creatures can see colours we can’t, like infra-red and ultraviolet, which are not on the ‘visible spectrum’ of light. The visible spectrum is defined as what we can see as humans. For animals, and some people, the range of colours they can see vary from this ‘default’ setting. So let’s have a look at some of the ways animals can use colour.

    Camouflage Strategy

    The obvious, and best known reason animals have the colours and coat patterns they have is to blend in to their environment. Blending in is advantageous for both predator and prey species. This is why you see a lot of browns and greys in the colouration of many species. Colour strategies involving camouflage are a huge part of why animals look the way they do.

    An octopus on the sandy ocean floor.
    Octopus on the sea floor

    Of course some species can actually change their colouration to blend in. A lot of octopus and squid species are extremely skilled at this, as are chameleons but we’ll get into them a bit more later. They have specialised chromatophore cells that can change what wavelength of light the skin reflects, which changes the colour. Chromatophore cells are the cells containing pigment, such as melanocytes, the cells in human skin that contain melanin.

    Disruptive colouration uses contrasting markings that don’t repeat to break up the outline of an animal or hide features like their eyes to hide in their environment. This is employed by a lot of cats, the spots or stripes helping them blend in to get close to their prey without being spotted, as well as ambush predators and prey species.

    A flat-tailed horned lizard flattening its body to blend in with the ground.
    A flat-tailed horned lizard blocking its shadows

    Some species can stop themselves from producing shadows to hide. The horned lizards found in North America can flatten their bodies against the ground, the fringing along their sides disrupting the shadows and allowing them to blend in to the ground.

    Decorating themselves with material from the environment can help with blending in and hiding their body parts. Decorator crabs employ this, covering their body with sponges. The Ghillie suit used by military snipers uses this same principle.

    Underwater Camouflage

    white jellyfish digital wallpaper
    Jellyfish with a transparent body

    Transparency is another method, particularly seen in marine animals such as jellyfish. Their bodies are gelatinous with a similar refractive index to sea water so they are almost invisible. This is a trade-off as it means their mobility is poor. Another cool example are glass frogs, which are transparent around their main body, which helps them blend in to the environment around them.

    A lot of fish have reflective scales, called ‘silvering’ which uses guanine crystals to give a reflective surface. The marine hatchet fish is a notable example of this. For deep sea fish, ultra black colouration absorbs light and allows the animal to hide in the depths. This is used by anglerfish, which improves the effectiveness of their bioluminescent lure to attract prey into their ambush.

    Mimicing another object involves both colour and body shape. Either to hide or to lure prey into an ambush. A lot of insects mimic leaves or twigs to hide in the plants they live in. Some preying mantises make themselves look like flowers to attract insects.

    Danger! Warning! Aposematism Strategies

    Some animals have colouration that makes them stand out, instead of blending in. This is called aposematism, and the idea is that the animal is noticed and avoided by potential predators. Colour is used to warn that the animal is dangerous and not worth eating.

    The colours used are often the same, with combinations of red, yellow, black and white employed. We use these same colours for warning signs. Wet floor signs, stop signs, police tape!

    A brightly coloured coral snake with red and black bands and yellow stripes to indicate it is dangerous.
    A coral snake showing it’s bright warning colours

    The colours can indicate a number of things, from tasting bad like the cinnabar moth, foul-smelling like skunks, aggressive like honey badgers, or venomous like the coral snake. Aposematism works because either predators have the instinct to avoid animals with these colours or they have learned the hard way to avoid them.

    Some species will mimic this kind of colouration to fool predators into avoiding them. Batesian mimicry is where an edible animal looks like a dangerous one such as hoverflies who resemble bees but have no sting. Müllerian mimicry means a number of species that resemble each other and are dangerous, so they’ve evolved in a similar way. This kind is common among bees and wasps, who are capable of stinging.

    Chameleons, Nature’s Mood Ring – Communication Strategies

    Anyone who grew up in the 80s or 90s will remember ‘mood rings’, the cheap rings with a gem that changed colour to indicate your mood. They weren’t exactly accurate but chameleons have this ability and it works really well.

    Panther Chameleon in Sapporo Maruyama Zoo, Japan

    While they do use their colour changing abilities to blend in, the main purpose for colour changing is to indicate their mood and feelings. The males are more flamboyant than the females but they can display a wide range of colours.

    Bright greens and yellows or blues usually indicate a happy chameleon. Black indicates anger, fear or distress. Reds and oranges can indicate excitement or readiness to mate. Again this is down to the presence of guanine crystals within the skin cells. Changing the distance between these nanocrystals shifts the wavelengths of light reflected and thus changes the colour of the skin.

    It’s such a cool ability, and it’s surprising how quickly the change happens. As a vet, I treated a few chameleons and they’re one of my favourite reptile species. The black colour means pain or anger, and it can be localised. If you give a chameleon an injection or if they have a wound, the skin around the area will turn black.

    Other reptiles have some capability for this colour change. Bearded dragons can turn their beard black and puff it out if they feel threatened. But none are more spectacular than the chameleon.

    Looking for Love?

    The most common reason for bright and flamboyant colours in animals is for selection of suitable mates. Most notably this happens with a lot of birds, you only need to look at the different kinds of bird-of-paradise and the peafowl. These colour strategies can make them more vulnerable to predators in exchange for sex appeal!

    photo of blue and green peacock demonstrating colour strategies to attract a mate
    A Handsome Peacock

    Peafowl have dramatic sexual dimorphism (where the male and female look different). Peacocks are brightly coloured with the distinctive massive fan tail, while peahens are brown and drab looking.

    You could spend hours looking at the different species of bird-of-paradise and see the fabulous fashion styles of the males compared to the females. They put on elaborate displays to impress the females enough to be allowed to mate with them.

    Another favourite of mine is the eclectus parrot. These birds have such dramatic sexual dimorphism that they were believed to be different species at one point. The males are bright green with red and blue highlights and an orange beak, while the females are red and purple with a black beak.

    Thanks for Reading!

    As you can see, the animal world uses colour strategies in so many ways. It’s a really interesting topic and worth considering if you are featuring creatures in your writing. Or designing your own. So have a think about the creatures environment, role in the ecosystem and diet before deciding which colours you should use.

  • Reproduction Strategies: Creature Features

    Reproduction Strategies: Creature Features

    Image contains the text "Creature Features: Reproduction Strategies" and is a blue background with decorative leaves. It features a photograph of two baby rabbits and some daisies.

    Reproduction Strategies

    So, we discussed last time the difference between prey and predator, and how this impacts animal behaviour and physiology. Different species employ different strategies to ensure their species survives, and nowhere is that more apparent than in reproduction.

    I know in school, lots of people spent this part of biology making crude jokes and stuff, but it really is a wildly interesting subject. No other system of living things is more varied than reproductive systems. Essentially every species has a different system. So let’s have a look at some examples.

    Good at Multiplying – Rabbit Reproduction Strategy

    A joke in Zootopia that probably went over most kids heads, but it’s well known that rabbits are good at making more rabbits. Does, female rabbits, reach sexual maturity between 3 and 8 months of age and can concieve at any time of the year for the rest of her life.

    They are induced ovulators, meaning that the mating process causes the ovaries to release eggs. The gestation period is short, around a month. The young are born blind and helpless, and are kept in the nest underground, only feeding once or twice a day. She leaves them to feed.

    The doe can get pregnant again the next day after giving birth. In theory, they can have 12-13 litters per year. With the young reaching maturity in a few months, it’s no wonder that left unchecked, rabbits reproduce exponentially. Just ask Australia!

    I’m not joking, either. Rabbits were introduced to Australia and New Zealand by European settlers, and having no natural predators, they multiplied and are considered a huge pest due to damage done to crops. Infectious diseases were deliberately introduced to try to control their numbers.

    So that’s one strategy – overwhelming numbers means that odds are, at least a few offspring will live long enough to reproduce. Even if there’s a high rate of mortality from predation and disease. It only takes a couple of buns to make more. So high reproduction rates ensure the species continue to exist.

    Safety In Numbers – Herd Reproduction Strategy

    Another common strategy is staying within the herd or flock. It’s rare to find prey species that live solitary lives. Most ruminants like deer, giraffes, cattle, goats and sheep will live in a large group or herd. This has a number of benefits for their offspring.

    Firstly, more eyes and ears mean it is harder for predators to go unnoticed and sneak up on the group. If all the adult animals are keeping an eye out, the offspring will be safer. Young animals can stay near the group and will be harder to isolate.

    These kinds of animals have young that are precocious, meaning they are quite mature at birth. Capable of standing, walking and running within hours of being born. They are born with their eyes and ears open. They are capable of keeping up with the adult animals of the herd if something happens.

    Embryonic Diapause

    You ever wish you could hit the pause button on life? Well, some animals can do that for developing embryos. Embryonic diapause means the mother can halt cell division in the blastocyst (a very early embryo) and delay implantation into the uterus wall.

    Why would they want to do this? Often it is to ensure the offspring are born at the best time of year for factors like availability of food and temperatures. This gives the offspring the best possible chance of survival. Some species always have a period of diapause but for others it happens in response to day length and controlled by melatonin production in the pineal gland.

    Species that have been observed to employ this strategy include marsupials such as kangaroos, bears, rodents and mustelids (weasels, skunks and badgers.) It is very common among insects, fish and other non-mammalian vertebrates.

    Essentially the mother can pause the pregnancy or development of the embryo until it suits her better. Not something humans can really do but it is a good strategy for ensuring survival of the offspring.

    Nests and Burrows

    A common strategy in smaller prey species, hiding the offspring away in burrows or nests puts them out of reach of predators. The nest may be well hidden or defended by adult animals.

    A lot of reptiles will bury their eggs. Sea turtles are a famous example of this. They go onto the beach, lay their eggs and bury them in the sand to keep them safe until they hatch. Once they hatch, the young ones must make the trek from nest to the water safely. This period of travel makes them vulnerable to predation of course, but they employ the overwhelming numbers strategy too.

    watercolor seascape background with a photograph of a baby sea turtle on a sandy beach

    Hiding evidence of newborn animals is another essential part of this. Contrary to popular belief, eating the placenta is a behaviour that has nothing to do with extra nutrition for milk production. Basically all animals that have a placenta do this, even herbivores.

    So why? To hide the evidence of a newborn animal. That’s it. Simple as that. Giving birth is a messy business, there’s blood and amniotic fluid and stuff and it gets everywhere. Licking off the newborn and eating the placenta helps remove the scents and hide it.

    Different Reproduction Strategies

    So we can see there’s a few different ways that animals will endeavour to protect their young and ensure their survival. Direct parenting varies by species but it really depends on the environment and the predators in question.

    Many prey species employ a few of these strategies. It’s really interesting to compare the differences, I think. Being able to pause development to ensure the young are born at the optimal time of year is really clever. Hiding young away, or keeping them safe within a large herd. Just reproducing at high rates, like rabbits do.

    Of course, if you are creating your own creatures, you should consider this factor. How often do they reproduce and how to they ensure their offspring survive long enough to reproduce themselves? Bottom line is the need for survival of the species, so you need to have an idea how they approach this.

    Thanks for reading, I hope you found this helpful. As always, any questions or thoughts, leave them in the comments. If you want some advice or help working through ideas, I’m happy to be of assistance. Subscribe to see more like this, and find me on my social media channels for behind the scenes.

  • Prey vs Predators: Creature Features

    Prey vs Predators: Creature Features

    Predators either ambush or chase prey Predators have adaptations for catching prey such as strong teeth or claws Predators will aim for injured, sick or young as they are easier to catch Prey animals often live in large groups for safety Prey animals will try to hide or flee if a predator is detected Some animals are both prey and predator - like domestic cats! Behaviour is always about ensuring survival

    Prey vs Predators

    I’m back with another creature feature for writers. Today we are looking at prey vs predators. I will discuss the difference between prey and predatory animals, and how this affects their behaviours and physiology. There’s a lot of interesting biology going on here, so let’s get into it.

    Predators

    Predators are defined by their feeding behaviour, where they kill and eat another organism. It is different from scavenging or carrion eating, meaning they eat animals that are already dead, although many predatory animals do this as well.

    There are two main types of strategy predators use to hunt their prey. Ambush predation means they lie in wait, often hidden or camouflaged and strike when the prey passes by their hiding place. Crocodiles are a great example of this, as they hide in the water, and catch animals as they stop to drink.

    The other method is pursuit predation, where the predator will stalk the prey and give chase. Sometimes this is solitary, other species work as a group such as we see with wolves and hyenas. Team work makes the dream work, at least if you want to take down larger prey animals!

    Predators are often opportunists, taking advantage of weakened or injured animals in a group of prey. Or seeking out younger animals that can’t spot them or evade them as quickly.

    Predatory species have a huge number of different adaptations to aid them in getting their prey. I’ll cover the details in a future article. They employ sharp teeth and/or claws, speed, strength and camouflage techniques to be able to hunt. Their senses are geared towards making hunting easier as well.

    Wild predatory species are used to not eating every single day and consume as much as possible at each meal to keep them going until their next catch. For this reason, many of these species are not fed every single day when kept in captivity such as zoo collections.

    Prey

    Prey species have two main aims in their lives. To avoid being eaten, and to reproduce enough to ensure their species continues. Prey species have a number of adaptations and tricks to keep themselves safe.

    Prey animals almost always live in large groups or herds, because there’s safety in numbers. A large group means more eyes, ears and noses on alert for nearby predators. It also helps if you can run faster than another member of your group.

    A lot of prey species will either hide when predators are active or flee. A lot of the larger animals like goats, deer, wildebeest, giraffes and other ungulates have speed on their side. Their offspring must be able to get up and walk within hours of birth, to ensure they can keep up with the herd.

    Smaller prey species will often hide underground in burrows or warrens, where their predators may not be able to reach them. Especially if they have young, as they are more vulnerable to predation.

    You may hear people touting the ‘benefits’ of eating the placenta after birth because animals do it. I’m afraid the reason for this isn’t because of any nutritional benefit. It’s because the mother wants to hide any evidence that there are newborn animals around, to protect them from predation. That’s why, so you really don’t need to eat your placenta if you don’t want to. I promise.

    Why Not Both?

    You might be surprised to learn that some animals are both prey and predator. I know, I know, Zootopia/Zootropolis made it clear it was one or the other. But plenty of animals are both, and this means there behaviour reflects this.

    Want an example? You might well have one or two of these fuzzy little chaos gremlins yourself. Yup, I’m talking about cats. I mean, all cats are cats, but specifically I mean small cats, including Felis domesticus. Cats prey on small rodents, birds, house spiders and hair ties. But larger predators can and will hunt cats, especially if you live somewhere where there are wolves, larger cats or really big snakes.

    Why does it matter? Because a lot of feline behaviour we find odd, is reflective of the dual role that cats play. If you ever wondered why your cat likes to sleep inside your sock drawer, or hide in that cardboard box… this is why. The reason a lot of cats bite if you rub their belly, is because they feel vulnerable.

    The cat-nap, or cats being light sleepers is another indication. They need to be able to be alert to flee or fight at any time, especially when they are vulnerable. This can be the reason for them burying their droppings in the litter tray too.

    Plenty of other species fit in to the ecosystem as both prey and predator. Seals are another example, as they eat fish but are also a common prey species for polar bears and orcas. Welcome to the real circle of life, it’s not as cute as Mufasa would have us believe. Nature is beautiful, but brutal.

    Why Does This Matter?

    A number of reasons. All animal behaviours are geared towards survival and reproduction. Survival meaning finding food, water and shelter. Reproduction obviously means mating, rearing offspring and the species continues to exist. Every aspect of their behaviour and physiology is designed to maximise these things.

    It can help in real life, if you have behaviour problems with a pet. But as a writer, it’s also quite important if you are going to include animals in your stories, whether real world ones or magical, mythical ones. If you are creating your own, you need to figure out where they fit in to the ecosystem of your world.

    Over the coming weeks I’ll discuss some of these strategies in more detail, with real world and possibly fictional examples of things that demonstrate these points. Even if you don’t believe in the Theory of Evolution (which is called that because there’s plenty of scientific evidence it is a thing, by the way), there’s no denying that each species has its role to play.

    I hope you find this useful when considering the creatures to include in your world. There will always be a prey vs predators scenario somewhere in the ecosystem so it’s worth considering how to include it. For more useful tips on creatures, check out my quick tips. Subscribe for more and check back regularly as the website will be updated monthly with new information for you. I also talk about this kind of thing on my YouTube channel, focusing on gaming.