Why prey animals often see threats where there are none – and how it costs them

Leah Gray; Mike Webster

Why prey animals often see threats where there are none – and how it costs them

Leah Gray, Mike Webster

Biological Sciences

Research output: Contribution to specialist publication › Article

Abstract

For a nervous horror fan, an evening watching HBO’s hit post-apocalyptic television show The Last of Us might be followed by a restless night under the duvet. The silhouette of a coat slung over the back of a chair or even the screeching of a cat in the garden will cause a spike of adrenaline.

Animals are primed to be wary through natural selection rather than scary television shows, but like humans, they often make mistakes when watching out for threats.

Original language	English
Specialist publication	The Conversation
Publication status	Published - 2 Mar 2023

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https://theconversation.com/why-prey-animals-often-see-threats-where-there-are-none-and-how-it-costs-them-200864Licence: CC BY-ND

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Why prey animals often see threats where there are none – and how it costs them

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