It seems counterintuitive, you’re just making yourself more easily accessible to the predator and you’re giving them an easy meal. Can someone explain the logic behind playing dead and how effective the strategy is?
In: Biology
Because it works.
My cat is pretty good at catching magpies. It’s quite impressive to see, for the exact opposite of a reason that cats can be impressive.. He lies down on the patio table and pretends to sleep. Or actually sleep, and pretend not to wake up. Eventually the magpies volunteer one in the crew who gets to hop over and see if the fierce hunter beast is dead yet so that they can pick it’s bones.
And that’s when he eventually ends the game. By catching the magpie. Jaw to the throat-style.
It worked several times, and then the magpies figured it out. *The bloody cat is pretending to be dead Don’t go near him.*
Anyway. Just a few minutes later, when he wanders around with his newfound prey in his jaws, the magpie pretends to be dead, too.
And cats *hate* prey that dies before they get a chance to play with it. And just toss them to the ground and wonder if it’s edible at all, when it’s not moving. Try to nudge it a bit with a paw, just to see what happens.
A few seconds later, the magpie flies away, when the cat for a flimsy second is not paying attention.
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