Diet and Digestion
On earth, the presence of sharp fangs indicates a carnivorous nature. This is proven by the fact that the predator in Predator 2 makes frequent trips to a slaughterhouse to feed on cow carcasses. Its top fangs and sharp teeth on the lower jaw are perfect for holding and ripping through flesh, perhaps with the aid of the fangs on the end of the mandibles.
The question that one must ask, however, is whether or not the creature is omnivorous. In the jungles in Predator, there was ample vegetation which the predator could have eaten. The answer, whilst never directly addressed in the films, can be discerned simply by looking at the teeth of the creature. The sharp teeth just are not meant for eating vegetation, designed more for ripping and cutting than for grinding. Take human teeth, for example; there are 28 teeth (excluding wisdom teeth), approximately two of which are sharp (on average), with the rest flat for grinding vegetation and such.
What, then, did the predator eat whilst hunting Dutch Schaeffer’s team? The best theory is that it ate the local wildlife, such as pigs (they clearly inhabit that area; Mac kills one). Another says that maybe it eats the bodies of those that it hunts. However, this theory is highly suspect, given how the creature nonchalantly tosses Billy’s body off the tree after it has ripped his spine out. A final, rather morbid hypothesis arises from the question of what the predator does with the skin of its skinned victims. The answer may be that the creature consumes it.
Further examination of the predator shows no teeth behind the visible ones. This indicates that predators eat their food in large chunks, given their lack of chewing teeth. This also indicates that their digestive tracts (or saliva, or both) are far more effective at breaking down large chunks of food than humans, who have digestive problems when they do not chew.
Predator teeth (note the lack of chewing teeth behind the sharp ones)
Social Structure/Hierarchy and Role of Females/Sexuality/Development
Predators clearly consider their elders (and subsequently those who are more successful on the hunt) as leaders, given that they are the commanders of their respective ships in Alien vs. Predator and Predator 2. This indicates that a predator’s hunting abilities and success on said hunts seem to have a direct correlation to social rank, further emphasizing the creatures’ love of the hunt.
On the topic of reproduction, it is safe to assume that they reproduce. If they did not (considering that they do not live forever), then there would be no population. However, the method in which they do so is still questioned by many.
There are two types of reproduction: Asexual and Sexual. Asexual reproduction is the method where cells split into two in order to increase their numbers. This is accompanied by no variation, with both cells (original and offspring) being the exact same. Predator and Predator 2 have indicated that no two predators are alike, which is proof of genetic variation. This is only present in species which reproduce sexually (genetics from both father and mother make child different from them, like mixing blue and yellow paint makes green). Therefore, the conclusion may safely be drawn that predators do not split themselves in two to reproduce. Thus, they must procreate sexually opening up two new options; do they live in an all male society, or do they have females with which the males breed? If they reproduced male to male, then they would have to be able to both give and receive a seed. This, whilst technically not improvable, is highly unlikely.
That, then, opens up the possibility of a predator female society. There is no mention of females in the films, and thusly one can assume that they do not hunt often, if at all. One can then safely conclude that they are either considered above the petty hunting ways of the men, or are considered weaker and unable to succeed in hunts. The second one is more likely, given the aforementioned correlation between social rank and success in the hunt. One does not see female predators going to the pyramid in Antarctica to hunt xenomorphs to become women.
Therefore, predators must be born. Assuming similar birthing methods to creatures on earth (with pregnancy times probably longer than humans given larger size), they emerge from the womb as small infants. That, then, begs the question how long does it take for predators to grow to their full size? A possible answer to that question lies in Alien vs. Predator. Every 100 years, young predators go to Antarctica, Earth to hunt the deadliest prey (xenomorphs) and become men. This indicates that, at the time, they are close to 100 years old (give or take a few years). They have clearly grown to full size, given that the predator elder that comes to collect the dead youngling is approximately the same height and width as him. However, predators clearly need to be taught in the ways of their society, how to hunt, their ethics and code of honour, and how to use their extensive array of technology. One can safely assume that this takes many years to do. It can then be hypothesized that predators take much longer than humans to grow to full size (given their massive height, weight and muscle structure), with a good guess being 40-70 years, with around 15+ being taken up by training for their manhood rituals. However, given their reverence of hunting, in those 40-70 years of development they may go on easier hunts, gradually getting harder and harder so that they build both muscle and a hunting mind. The younger they start, the better they will be.
What the Predator Literature Indicates: Predator: Forever Midnight says that predators are capable of changing sexes, and that females give birth to large amounts of children. Predator: Flesh and Blood states that whilst female predators do not typically engage in hunts, they are allowed to and sometimes do.
Skin Density, Muscle Structure, Nerves and Pain Reception
A predator is dually capable of coping with far more pain and surviving fatal wounds than any man. This could be due to several reasons: perhaps their skin is denser, perhaps their muscle structure is far firmer (thus protecting it), they have tougher bones, they have extremely active adrenaline (or another chemical with similar pain numbing abilities), or their nerves are far less sensitive than a man’s. At any rate, nearly every wound that the predators suffer would have either killed or rendered a man unconscious. This section will look at those wounds, and compare the predator’s reaction to that of a man in the same situation.
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This article was posted Tuesday, July 20th, 2010 at 7:48 pm by: Chris P
