Realistic Predators

[onyx meadow]

Predators in this game suck. Fix them. Simple as that.

Currently, every. Damn. Predator. In. The. Game. scares every. Other. Damn. Animal. Aside. From. Other. Predators.

That's stupid if you ask me. Would a single moose, let alone an entire herd, be threatened by a lynx in real life? No. Lynxes don't hunt moose. Would a black bear be threatened by a mountain lion? Most of the time, no. Mountain lions only kill young black bears, and only attack adults during territorial disputes. Black bears should make the LION flee, if anything - they are usually the victor of such disputes.

So that's exactly what I'm talking about. These changes should be made and will make the game not only more realistic, but less of an absolute pain for everyone.

Predators (bobcat/Mexican bobcat, Eurasian lynx, snow leopard - at least I think these scare others? I don't know -, mountain lion/puma, grey wolf, Iberian wolf, American alligator, saltwater crocodile, lion, and Bengal tiger) chase after animals they hunt in the wild under normal conditions (meaning they are not threatened, pressured, or in famine). Animals that are not targeted by this behaviour do not flee from these predators and are not hunted by these predators. Additionally, single females and small herds take priority before males (for species with antlers/means of fighting back instead of fleeing) and large herds. Single wolves do not target herds due to being pack hunters.

I'll include lists of what each predator hunts naturally below - not enough space here for it.

Artwork by David Shepherd (1931 – 2017) - Lions with Buffalo Kill
The artist wrote, "Evening is short in Africa; from daylight to darkness is perhaps just one hour. The burning daytime heat of the Luangwa Valley in Zambia, when nothing seems to stir, gradually gives way to the cool of the evening and the shadows lengthen. Then, quite suddenly, it is dark, and life awakens to the vibrant sounds of the African night."

Bobcat (New England Mountains)

Main prey in real life: eastern cottontail rabbit, New England cottontail rabbit, birds up to the size of trumpeter swan

Other prey (less commonly hunted): young ungulates, grey fox, American mink, American marten, skunk, raccoon, small rodents, ducks, animals that fish

**Target prey animals in-game (animals it pursues/scares): **eastern cottontail rabbit, ring-necked pheasant, bobwhite quail, goldeneye (when resting), mallard (when resting), green-winged teal (when resting), common raccoon

Mexican Bobcat (Rancho del Arroyo)

Main prey in real life: rodents, jackrabbits, collared peccary, birds, deer, white-nosed coati

Other prey (less commonly hunted): snakes, lizards, scorpions

Target prey animals in-game (animals it pursues/scares): ring-necked pheasant, antelope jackrabbit, collared peccary, solitary/female whitetail deer and mule deer

Photo by Chris Swarth

Eurasian Lynx (Medved-Taiga National Park)

Main prey in real life: hares, rabbits, marmots, squirrels, dormice, muskrats, martens, grouse, wild boar, young moose, reindeer, birds, other ungulates

Other prey (less commonly hunted): no information

Target prey animals in-game (animals it pursues/scares): western capercaillie, Siberian musk deer, wild boar, mountain reindeer

Predators it flees from if the predator is feeding: grey wolf

Eurasian Lynx (Revontuli Coast)

Main prey in real life: hares, rabbits, marmots, squirrels, dormice, muskrats, martens, grouse, wild boar, young moose, birds, whitetail deer, raccoon dog, other ungulates, birds in the subfamily Phasianinae

Other prey (less commonly hunted): domestic sheep

Target prey animals in-game (animals it pursues/scares): black grouse, hazel grouse, western capercaillie, rock ptarmigan, willow ptarmigan, mountain hare, raccoon dog, whitetail deer

Photo by Tom & Pat Leeson via Science Photo Library

Snow Leopard (Sundarpatan)

Main prey in real life: Himalayan blue sheep, Himalayan tahr, argali, markhor, wild goat, domestic livestock

Other prey (less commonly hunted): Himalayan marmot, pika, vole

Target prey animals in-game (animals it pursues/scares): blue sheep, tahr, woolly hare

Photo by Daniel Bailey

Mountain Lion (Silver Ridge Peaks)

Main prey in real life: mule deer, elk, mountain goat, bighorn sheep

**Other prey (less commonly hunted): **rodents, rabbits, hares, pika, smaller carnivores, birds, domestic animals

**Target prey animals in-game (animals it pursues/scares): **mountain goat, bighorn sheep, mule deer, rocky mountain elk, pronghorn

Puma (Parque Fernando)

Main prey in real life: mule deer, hares, guanacoes, peccaries, vicuñas, rheas, wild turkey

Other prey (less commonly hunted): birds, small reptiles

**Target prey animals in-game (animals it pursues/scares): **mule deer, blackbuck, axis deer, collared peccary, red deer

Photo by Charles Krebs

Grey Wolf (Yukon Valley Nature Reserve)

Note: wolf packs range from two to over fifteen individuals in real life. In-game, they range from one lone wolf to nine individuals - the most common being 5, 6, 8, and 9.

Main prey in real life: moose, caribou, rodents, hares, smaller carnivores, waterfowl, elk, bison

Other prey: lizards, snakes, frogs, grasshoppers

Target prey animals in-game: harlequin duck (landed, 1+), Canada goose (landed, 1+), Grant caribou (3+), cow moose (4+), bull moose (5+), plains bison (6+)

Predators it scares if the wolves are hunting: Eurasian lynx (1+), grizzly bear (8+)

**Predators it flees from if the predator is feeding: **grizzly bear (1)

Grey Wolf (Medved-Taiga National Park)

Main prey in real life: moose, wild boar, reindeer, rodents, hares, smaller carnivores, waterfowl

Other prey: lizards, snakes, frogs, fish, marine life

Target prey animals in-game: western capercaillie (1+), Siberian musk deer (2+), mountain reindeer (3+),wild boar (4+), cow moose (4+), bull moose (5+)

Predators it scares if the wolves are hunting: Eurasian lynx (1+), brown bear (8+)

Predators it flees from if the predator is feeding: brown bear (1)

Grey Wolf (Askiy Ridge Hunting Preserve)

Main prey in real life: moose, caribou, rodents, hares, smaller carnivores, waterfowl, elk, bison

Other prey: lizards, snakes, frogs, grasshoppers

Target prey animals in-game: Canada goose (landed, 1+), snow goose (landed, 1+), dusky grouse (1+), ring-necked pheasant (1+), wood duck (landed, 1+), northern pintail (landed, 1+), mallard (landed, 1+), North American beaver (gathering, 1+), pronghorn (2+), mountain goat (2+), whitetail deer (2+), bighorn sheep (2+), mule deer (2+), woodland caribou (3+), Manitoban elk (4+), cow moose (4+), bull moose (5+), wood bison (6+)

Predators it scares if the wolves are hunting: black bear (8+)

Photo by Dan Stahler

Iberian Wolf (Cuatro Colinas Game Reserve)

Note: wolf packs range from two to over fifteen individuals in real life - Iberian wolves tend to live in smaller packs. In-game, they range from one lone wolf to nine individuals that I have seen - the most common being 5, 6, 8, and 9 if Iberian wolf packs are the same as grey wolf packs.

Main prey in real life: Wild boar (44% of diet), roe deer (35%)

Other prey (less commonly hunted): domesticated animals (18%, I believe mouflon is included in this), ibex (3%), red deer (0.3%), rabbits (unknown amount but probably small)

Target prey animals in-game (animals it pursues/scares): European hare (1+), roe deer (2+), all ibex (3+), Iberian mouflon (3+), wild boar (4+), red deer (5+)

Credits unknown :(

American Alligator (Mississippi Acres Preserve)

Main prey in real life: invertebrates, fish, birds, turtles, snakes, amphibians, mammals - targets prey smaller than itself; largemouth bass, spotted gar, freshwater pearl mussels, American green tree frogs, yellow mud turtles, cottonmouths, common moorhens, wild boar - native mammals most commonly predated include muskrats and raccoons - can feed on carrion when prey is not available

Other prey (less commonly hunted): deer, large wild boars, black bears (usually cubs)

Target prey animals in-game (animals it pursues/scares): eastern wild turkey, green-winged teal (when landed), common raccoon, whitetail deer, wild hog

Photos by pauljanosiphotography on Instagram

Saltwater Crocodile (Emerald Coast Australia)

**Main prey in real life: **magpie goose, hog deer, chital/axis deer, wallabies, turtles, flying foxes, hares, rodents, sambar deer, wild boar/feral pigs, goats, kangaroos, dingos, banteng, water buffalo

Other prey (less commonly hunted): humans, livestock - larger prey mentioned above (sambar, boar/pigs, banteng, water buffalo) are primarily only hunted by large adult male crocodiles

Target prey animals in-game (animals it pursues/scares): magpie goose (when landed), hog deer, axis deer, feral goat (I doubt they'd get close enough to their range to even be scared though lmao), eastern grey kangaroo, fallow deer, feral pig, Javan rusa, red deer, sambar, banteng - basically no change to their current behaviour :) these guys eat anything

Photo by Rodney Fischer

African Lion (Vurhonga Savanna)

Main prey in real life: blue wildebeest, plains zebra, African buffalo, gemsbok, giraffe, warthogs, springbok, kudu, carrion when needed

Other prey (less commonly hunted): small prey - dik-dik, hyrax, hares, monkeys, small reptiles, porcupines - avoids large animals such as elephants, rhinoceros, and hippopotamus

Target prey animals in-game (animals it pursues/scares): springbok, warthog, lesser kudu, blue wildebeest, gemsbok, cape buffalo

Photo by Nick Dale

Bengal Tiger (Sundarpatan)

Main prey in real life: gaur, sambar, chital/axis deer, barasingha, water buffalo, nilgai, serow, takin, wild boar, Indian hog deer, Indian muntjac, blackbuck, tahr, northern plains grey langur, domestic livestock

Other prey (less commonly hunted): small prey - porcupines, hares, peafowl

Target prey animals in-game (animals it pursues/scares): woolly hare, northern red muntjac, blackbuck, tahr, barasingha, nilgai, water buffalo

Credits unknown again :(

I did not consider how long these would take to post with this slowmode LMFAO

[red iron]

I like the general premise behind this and the amount of research that went into this but there is one additional thing I would like to point out

The Puma in Parque should also be able to spook Red Deer as pumas do consider the red deer as prey when the two species live in the same area

I will be taking inspiration from this thread for some of my reserve concepts

[onyx meadow]

Oh I forgot to put them in there, good point - I was just looking at wikipedia and some of them were rather vague

[kindred bison]

For the Gray Wolves it would be cool for the bears to have a chance to flee from a large enough pack maybe one of 8 or 9 individuals as some wolves have been (rarely) observed hunting black bear, and they will attempt to drive away bears of any species if they have the numbers to (they might even if they don’t and a bear is to close to their rearing den but that’s not relevant to the game)

[digital gust]

I love the magpie geese but it is currently so annoying to hunt them right now because they are in a perpetual state of fleeing from the crocs so it would be so nice if they could be changed so they only spook from the crocs after they’ve landed

[azure perch]

Animals behavior are the main problem of the game. Piece of ***. The main priority is give to g1 and rare. Classic and rdr2 have part of these stuff. But classic was made by the ancients. Rdr2 was made by the big team. Zero chance.

[fast crane]

I'd also like it if aggressive animals also mock charged and displayed aggression besides making a beeline for you

Especially in large carnivores, unless they're hunting you, they'll give you plenty of fair warning to bugger off