Persistence hunting – humans running antelope to death

Kalahari bushman after a successful persistence hunt of a male kudu A while ago I watched a David Attenborough documentary that showed a bushman man running a Kudu to death. It was pretty amazing stuff – by persistently chasing the kudu through the heat of the day he was able to exhaust it to the point of collapse.

(Watch that part of the documentary on YouTube – 7 minutes)

I was very impressed (and sorry for the Kudu) but assumed that this was highly unusual.

It turns out that in ancient history persistence hunting (as it is known) was actually very common. In fact some anthropologists believe humans hunted in this way before they had tools such as spears and bows.

Our bodies are so well adapted to endurance running (especially in hot conditions where prey easily overheat) that these anthropologists believe persistence hunting was an evolutionary force in humans. It seems we are specifically evolved to be able to run a large antelope into heat exhaustion.

Some examples (many more in the other articles):

Running on two legs is slower in a sprint, but more efficient over long distances
Humans have toes that are far shorter than all other primates. This has been shown to be a big advantage – but only when running over distance
Hairless bodies and our all over sweating allows running in the heat. Antelope aren’t nearly as efficient at getting rid of heat – they must stop to pant

Interesting stuff. Here is another short article on the subject.

evolution, human-nature

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http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2009/05/07/vibram-five-fingers-shoes/ Vibram Five Fingers Shoes: The Barefoot Alternative

[...] for running. In fact, some researchers have proposed that bipedalism is an evolved trait related to “persistence hunting”, which is common among predators like wolves. Don’t think a human can run an antelope to [...]
http://real-url.org/twitted.php?id=1732578799 Twitted by diamondpearl

[...] This post was Twitted by diamondpearl – Real-url.org [...]
http://real-url.org/twitted.php?id=1753386986 Twitted by danieljackson

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[...] This post was Twitted by JasonPeck – Real-url.org [...]
http://www.soscooter.com Shawn@SoScooter.com

Funny… I recently saw a Discover Channel special saying that our closest primate relatives who use all four limbs to get around use about 50% more energy than us bipeds. Another reason that humans dominate!
http://erskienlenier.com/?p=36 Good Feet – Bad Feet – Dumb Shoe Designs! | Barefoot DNA

[...] for running. In fact, some researchers have proposed that bipedalism is an evolved trait related to “persistence hunting”, which is common among predators like wolves. Don’t think a human can run an antelope to death? [...]
http://muszkiewicz.com/culture/persistence-hunt-of-a-male-kudu/ Persistence Hunt of a Male Kudu | Muszkiewicz Reader

[...] this amazing short video via Alistair Pott’s post on “persistence hunting,” linked to from Tim Ferriss’s piece on Vibram Five [...]
http://www.guysdomeafavor.com/ Rachel

I'm not entirely useless after all!
http://magdalicious00.wordpress.com/2009/06/23/persistence-hunting-and-you-though-you-were-tired/ Persistence Hunting: And you though you were tired? « Magdalicious … the blog

[...] Persistence Hunting: And you though you were tired? 23 06 2009 I read the article on a blog a while back and I’ve been meaning to write about it. [here is the blog I read it from] [...]
http://www.wide-aware.com vidyut

Incredible, yet fits in with what instinct tells me. I've done a lot of walking, and never really tired from it. Used to seem incredible to people, but it makes sense now. It was strange (still is, though I don't walk as much). Walking fast/running for shorter periods is tougher for me than walking round the clock (with nomadic horsemen).
helena

i saw that documentary too. incredable isnt it!!
it also said that another of our advantages is that we can carry water with us, alimals have to actually find water, then stop to drink it. They also have to stop to cool down, whereas humans can sweat to keep cool.
haha. wish i was that fit!
http://alistairpott.com/ alistairpott

The New York Times has an interesting article touching on this. It's about how humans seem to be evolved for long distance running.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/27/health/27well…
http://alistairpott.com/ alistairpott

The New York Times has an interesting article touching on this. It's about how humans seem to be evolved for long distance running.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/27/health/27well…
http://muszkiewicz.com/posts/persistence-hunt-of-a-male-kudu/ Persistence Hunt of a Male Kudu « Muszkiewicz Reader

[...] this amazing short video via Alistair Pott’s post on “persistence hunting,” linked to from Tim Ferriss’s piece on Vibram Five [...]
clark

Fascinating video and idea. Check out the video at 3:46 or so, where it shows slow motion of his feet as he lands. He lands on the balls of his feet, whereas most westerners land on the heel, which people are saying is really bad for your feet.
Bachini

That's pretty freakin' cool!
riz

theres a really good book all about distance running and the Tarahumara indians in mexico. Born to Run by Christopher McDougall. it has a lot of new research on all aspects of running and a pretty cool story too.
spyros

I used to do this for fun as a “cruel kid” 30 years ago in our farm chasing chickens and dogs to the exhaustion. Therefore I definitely buy the theory that our ability for persistence hunting gave us a critical advantage over our competitors.
http://quasicontrol.com/2010/03/15/its-that-time-again/ Its that time again « Quasi-Control

[...] the animal fainted from exhaustion. If this doesn’t sound plausible to you, there are still bushman who hunt this way [...]
ben

wow
ben

dudes i read recently about a lady, barbara moore, who walked from sanfransisco to new york in 46 days, 6-8 mph pace and ate a diet which consisted of almost entirely wild edible plants and grasses!!! I prepare for the day that we can walk out our front doors with nothing on our backs but natural harmony and thrive as she did.
http://www.strengthtrainingsystem.net Sean

Very interesting article.
http://smilingmind.net/ Maxime Lagacé (SmilingMind)

In “Born to Run”, they tell the same story. That's the first article I see about it. Interesting
http://smilingmind.net/ Maxime Lagacé (SmilingMind)

In the book “Born to Run”, they tell the same story. That's the first article I see about it. Interesting indeed !
http://www.naturalgouttreatment.net I3adasswrestler

I saw that documentary a few weeks ago! Great article!
Pete

I'm not nearly so fit as I once was but when I was younger I would often walk with my eyes closed and just flash them open every 5 – 10 seconds in order to gain some rest when I needed sleep. It worked very well and my experiences gained through lots of walking have always led me to believe we were born to walk/run.
Apprenticelineman

Thank god we're not having to run our food to death anymore…ha ha.

http://www.snowboardpackage.org
http://redefining-boundaries.blogspot.com KevL

And I read crap like 'cardio goes against the human evolution' or that 'cardio is bad for you'. I've never, ever believed all that nonsense
http://irs-relief.net Brian

Humans rock!
http://debitconsolidations.org BP

Pretty amazing.
Dionim

Yes, but they tell it slightly different. Way shorter (2 hours, but could be up to 4-5) and way more intense. Plus, not with a single runner.

Persistence hunting – humans running antelope to death

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