PT155 S1 Q3 ExplanationWhen frightened by hunters in a truck

Answer choices, explained

1. A

   No Distinction2% picked this

   Animals that are startled sometimes act in ways that appear irrational

   This answer doesn't give us any way to understand why the gazelle's response to being startled by a truck is different than being startled by a predator.

   2%
2. B

   Unrelated to Goal0% picked this

   Young gazelles and gazelles that are not very healthy often stot when they become frightened by humans

   We don't care about unhealthy gazelles, because the paradox we're trying to explain is about healthy ones. The fact that young gazelles often stot when frightened by a human / truck doesn't really do anything to solve our mystery. Our mystery is why healthy gazelles stot when frightened by a predator (or by anything). Stotting seems to mess up their goal of escaping, since it gives away their position and robs them of precious energy.

   0%
3. C

   Correct93% picked this

   To animals that typically prey on gazelles, stotting is a signal of strength and

   Why this is right

   This helps explain why gazelles bother to stot when running from a predator. It seemed contrary to their purposes (it gives away their position and drains them of energy). But this answer helps to explain the utility of this behavior. Stotting is apparently a signal that predators understand to mean, "This gazelle is strong and very able to escape". Since predators have to conserve their energy, they only pursue prey they think they can catch (usually the sicker, slower, weaker, younger members of the herd). If a predator starts to chase a gazelle and then the gazelle starts stotting, the predator might see this chase as a lost cause and give up.

   Skill tested: Paradox · how this choice captures the argument's function is the move to repeat next time.

   93%
4. D

   Deepens Paradox, if anything3% picked this

   A healthy gazelle can usually detect the approach of a predator before the predator becomes aware of the

   Our paradox is about why gazelles react differently to trucks than to predators, or about why gazelles react to predators in a manner that seems to mess up their escape plan. If anything, this answer deepens the paradox, because it says that gazelles usually are aware of the predator before the predator is aware of the gazelle. If you see the predator before the predator even knows you're there, then that would be all the more reason to try to make a quiet getaway. If you start stotting, as these gazelles do, then you're actually alerting the predator to your existence!

   3%
5. E

   No Impact1% picked this

   While not able to run as quickly as gazelles, predators such as lions hunt effectively by hunting in

   This just lets us know that a gazelle is facing a group of lions at once. Does that explain why the gazelle jumps high into the air, revealing its whereabouts? No. Does that explain why the gazelle wastes running energy on stotting? No.

   1%