# Nature Shows: Do you watch the kills? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 29, 2014, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nature-shows-do-you-watch-the-kills/702910 "2014-10-29T15:45:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![VarlosZ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d78d45/32.png) [@VarlosZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VarlosZ)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2014, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nature-shows-do-you-watch-the-kills/702910/1 "2014-10-29T15:45:40Z")
My mother watches a lot of nature shows, but when it comes time for the pride of lions to drag down a wildebeest, or for the orca to snatch up a penguin, she cringes and almost invariably fast forwards or changes the channel. I was wondering how common this type of thing is. Personally, I sometimes find the kills unpleasant to watch – particularly if the prey animal is the show’s de facto protagonist, which we’ve been following for several minutes or more – but I hardly ever change the channel. Thoughts? ---
**Author:** ![Helena330](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/helena330/32/531_2.png) [@Helena330](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helena330)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2014, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nature-shows-do-you-watch-the-kills/702910/2 "2014-10-29T17:34:42Z")
I voted the first option-I skip them. I know everyone’s gotta eat and I have no problem with that, I just don’t want to see the terror on their faces or the dying gasps of the prey. At least it’s usually pretty quick. ---
**Author:** ![Pai325](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Pai325](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pai325)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2014, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nature-shows-do-you-watch-the-kills/702910/3 "2014-10-29T17:47:29Z")
No, I don’t watch. I turn it off. And when I saw the title, I thought, “I must vote no.” But the question is phrased differently, so I voted yes. I’m happy I read it carefully, or I would have voted incorrectly! ---
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2014, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nature-shows-do-you-watch-the-kills/702910/4 "2014-10-29T17:47:51Z")
The phrase “nature red in tooth and claw” is very appropriate and watching the kills makes me remember that meat doesn’t come wrapped in plastic at the grocery store. I’ve seen kills live and in person at Yellowstone and in Alaska…it’s even more intense that way, trust me. ---
**Author:** ![Helena330](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/helena330/32/531_2.png) [@Helena330](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helena330)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2014, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nature-shows-do-you-watch-the-kills/702910/5 "2014-10-29T18:04:46Z")
> [@RikWriter](#): > > The phrase “nature red in tooth and claw” is very appropriate and watching the kills makes me remember that meat doesn’t come wrapped in plastic at the grocery store. I’ve seen kills live and in person at Yellowstone and in Alaska…it’s even more intense that way, trust me. I wish more of us had that perspective. I got kind of hooked on Dsicovery’s outdoorsy shows like Yukon Men and the other Alaska show they have. When I started, I was pretty averse to the hunting, but I came to realize it’s a much more honest way of acquiring food. It’s certainly less cruel than subjecting cows to slaughterhouses and chickens to crowded conditions, and better for the environment than manure pools. Trapping is still out-and-out cruel, though. Sorry for the hijack. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2014, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nature-shows-do-you-watch-the-kills/702910/6 "2014-10-29T18:13:05Z")
It doesn’t bother me. Humans killing animals for sport bothers me though. I don’t have to turn it off, but it makes me want to hunt humans. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2014, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nature-shows-do-you-watch-the-kills/702910/7 "2014-10-29T18:28:24Z")
When an animal (especially a baby) dies from exposure or neglect, that is much more difficult to watch than a hunt. Both are natural and inevitable parts of life in the wild, but at least the hunt involves very little suffering (though obviously significant panic) but to see an animal slowly starve or submit to a fatal injury, that’s more difficult for me to watch. ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2014, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nature-shows-do-you-watch-the-kills/702910/8 "2014-10-29T18:33:37Z")
I own a snake that eats live mice, so I’m pretty used to the idea of animals eating each other. Of course, even before owning snakes, I wasn’t particularly bothered by this. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2014, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nature-shows-do-you-watch-the-kills/702910/9 "2014-10-29T18:35:14Z")
I watch. The killing of one non-human animal by another does not distress me on an emotional level. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2014, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nature-shows-do-you-watch-the-kills/702910/10 "2014-10-29T18:48:49Z")
Other. It’s the best damned part! I mean it’s all natural and part of the cycle, or circle, of life. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2014, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nature-shows-do-you-watch-the-kills/702910/11 "2014-10-29T19:02:08Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > It doesn’t bother me. Humans killing animals for sport bothers me though. I don’t have to turn it off, but it makes me want to hunt humans. I think there’s some moral confusion there, sir. Though I don’t hunt for sport either. ---
**Author:** ![VarlosZ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d78d45/32.png) [@VarlosZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VarlosZ)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2014, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nature-shows-do-you-watch-the-kills/702910/12 "2014-10-29T19:15:10Z")
> [@Pai325](#): > > And when I saw the title, I thought, “I must vote no.” But the question is phrased differently, so I voted yes. I’m happy I read it carefully, or I would have voted incorrectly! Oops. Yeah, I probably should’ve worded that more consistently. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2014, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nature-shows-do-you-watch-the-kills/702910/13 "2014-10-29T19:22:17Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Other. It’s the best damned part! I mean it’s all natural and part of the cycle, or circle, of life. Yep. Just like a defensive end beating the blocker and lighting up a quarterback. And then eating him. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2014, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nature-shows-do-you-watch-the-kills/702910/14 "2014-10-29T19:58:24Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > I think there’s some moral confusion there, sir. Though I don’t hunt for sport either. I’d give the humans a fair chance, unlike the animals they are killing. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2014, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nature-shows-do-you-watch-the-kills/702910/15 "2014-10-29T20:34:24Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > I’d give the humans a fair chance, unlike the animals they are killing. Know any cats? ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2014, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nature-shows-do-you-watch-the-kills/702910/16 "2014-10-29T20:35:39Z")
Other. Nature Kills (croc/wildebeest, cat/tweetybird, et. al.) don’t bother me at all, with extremely rare exceptions. Worth mentioning that this is rather out of character for me. “Other” because: Mrs. Cretin, a hardcore lover of essentialy all animal life, can’t bear to watch Critter A killing/fighting/eating Critter B. It’s profoundly upsetting for her. Nothing religious or woo about her- she just loves animals. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2014, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nature-shows-do-you-watch-the-kills/702910/17 "2014-10-29T20:45:02Z")
I generally root for the predator, so No, it doesn’t bother me and I watch. I love Road Runner-Coyote cartoons, though. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2014, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nature-shows-do-you-watch-the-kills/702910/18 "2014-10-29T22:59:20Z")
I can watch a fast kill of a smallish animal by a big predator. But I can’t watch a large animal, like a baby elephant or a water buffalo, getting eaten alive by lions or hyenas. ::shudder:: ---
**Author:** ![NVME702-redux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a183cd/32.png) [@NVME702-redux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NVME702-redux)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2014, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nature-shows-do-you-watch-the-kills/702910/19 "2014-10-29T23:04:23Z")
I love the Alaska nature shows, when its an animal on animal kill, I sing “The Circle of Life” all the while holding my Yorkie up in the air like Rafiki held up Simba in The Lion King. ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2014, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nature-shows-do-you-watch-the-kills/702910/20 "2014-10-29T23:40:16Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > I generally root for the predator, so No, it doesn’t bother me and I watch. > > I love Road Runner-Coyote cartoons, though. > > Regards, > Shodan Thank you for your patronage. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nature-shows-do-you-watch-the-kills/702910.md?page=2)