# Predator or Prey who do you root for?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/predator-or-prey-who-do-you-root-for/667911>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [September 3, 2013, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/predator-or-prey-who-do-you-root-for/667911 "2013-09-03T18:50:34Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\
**Post date:** [September 4, 2013, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/predator-or-prey-who-do-you-root-for/667911/21 "2013-09-04T12:46:17Z")

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I never know which way I will root. I seem to favor clean kills when possible. Lions attacking elephants I root for the elephant. Even water buffalo when it takes them 2 or more hours to make a kill.

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**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\
**Post date:** [September 4, 2013, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/predator-or-prey-who-do-you-root-for/667911/22 "2013-09-04T13:16:24Z")

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I think it’s easy to reflexively root for the prey. If it loses one time, its suffering/loss is immediately obvious to us.

If the predator loses one time, it’s just a little more tired and hungry. But we rarely see what happens if it keeps losing: it slowly starves to death, a process quite a bit more drawn-out and miserable than the 30-second chase experienced by its prey. Offspring may starve as well (of course that could also be true for a prey animal’s offspring).

Prey animals are frequently juvenile (since they can’t keep up with the fleeing adults). We are sympathetic to children/puppies/kittens, so seeing a lioness chase down a baby gazelle seems somehow unfair to us; I suspect [this is a popular daydream.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4VaPMPhy-U) Reality is seldom so rosy, but [once in a while it really does turn out that way.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LU8DDYz68kM)

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**Author:** ![Agent\_Foxtrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc29f/32.png) [@Agent\_Foxtrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agent_Foxtrot)\
**Post date:** [September 4, 2013, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/predator-or-prey-who-do-you-root-for/667911/23 "2013-09-04T14:03:20Z")

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I couldn’t vote. I sit on the fence, and fall either way depending on my mood.

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