Huh. I hadn't thought of it that way. So I should be looking for prey animals to compare to. But even so, do prey need to pinpoint the direction of a sound, or merely know the gross direction reliably?
"We may have evolved into hunters, but we were also prey in the beginning."
Hmm. Is this something where we're anatomically in-between (as our digestive systems are clearly a compromise between carnivore and herbivore, not optimized for either), or are we more in the "prey but got over it" category?
Note that I haven't quite figured out why we should be so good at this yet. Even being as good as a dog or cat (or deer or rabbit ... hey, I know someone with a rabbit I can observe!) would be enough to keep us aware of aproaching threats. But I wondered for years why we should be able to see clearly so much farther than we can throw a spear (even with an atlatl) and well enough to drive a car so much faster than we can run, until someone provided the clue that our brachiating ancestors had to plan swing-and-leap routes many branches ahead, so maybe someone will provide the clue I should have seen for this one as well.
Catching up a bit late. Prey does need to pinpoint with some accuracy a sound so that they can focus on sight/scent to determine if the sound is something that needs to be left behind or just a random sound. A herd of horses will run themselves into exhaustion if they bolt at every leaf fluttering by.T
(no subject)
"We may have evolved into hunters, but we were also prey in the beginning."
Hmm. Is this something where we're anatomically in-between (as our digestive systems are clearly a compromise between carnivore and herbivore, not optimized for either), or are we more in the "prey but got over it" category?
Note that I haven't quite figured out why we should be so good at this yet. Even being as good as a dog or cat (or deer or rabbit ... hey, I know someone with a rabbit I can observe!) would be enough to keep us aware of aproaching threats. But I wondered for years why we should be able to see clearly so much farther than we can throw a spear (even with an atlatl) and well enough to drive a car so much faster than we can run, until someone provided the clue that our brachiating ancestors had to plan swing-and-leap routes many branches ahead, so maybe someone will provide the clue I should have seen for this one as well.
(no subject)