Does fire deter animals?

Discussion in 'Human Science' started by Beer w/Straw, May 15, 2020.

  1. Beer w/Straw Transcendental Ignorance! Valued Senior Member

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  3. DaveC426913 Valued Senior Member

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    Yes, uncontrolled fire tends to deter animals - a natural instinct.
    (Though not all - Rhinos have a habit of charging to and stomping out brush fires)

    But many animals are drawn to light, and some are drawn to warmth.

    Fire is not an evolutionary advantage; it is a technological advantage.

    Large brains and opposable thumbs are the evolutionary advantage.
     
    Last edited: May 15, 2020
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  5. Jeeves Valued Senior Member

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    Companion animals become accustomed to fire as a source or warmth and comfort, as well as the center of their humans' convivial gatherings.
    Wild animals generally have experience of fire only as immediate, extreme danger.
     
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  7. Beer w/Straw Transcendental Ignorance! Valued Senior Member

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    Well, (I'm not American) what would the sound of a gunshot do in animals? There's more guns than people in America; I'd fancy a 30 30 semi auto rifle yet I'm not hunting bears or elephants.

    :EDIT:

    for fun

     
    Last edited: May 17, 2020
  8. Jeeves Valued Senior Member

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    All creatures with even a modicum of intelligence (and reasonably developed auditory apparatus) are startled by sudden loud noises. In the wild, an explosive sound would normally indicate lightning to follow, which means danger. The creatures that have experienced firearms in some capacity simply had to add a new, thin layer of rational fear on top of millions of years of instinctive fear.
    However, most humans, many dogs and some horses can be trained through gradual desensitization to accept that sound as part of their environment.
     
  9. DaveC426913 Valued Senior Member

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  10. Jeeves Valued Senior Member

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    Yeah, all right. Lightning-strike, causing fire, which would then follow.
    Sometimes concision is the enemy of precision.
     
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