Yes, so far we have taken tactics from the military, the police and even professional sports. How about Animal Tactics? These tactics are mostly defensive in nature, as they are taken from animals who are primarily hunted all their lives. With a little bit of thought, you can turn them into offensive tactics, too.

WASCALLY WABBIT

Rabbits have been known to run in a complete circle, when spooked. Should the prospective predator be a little slow taking up the chase, the rabbit will end up behind them. In your case this will allow you to flank them, and avoid being flanked by them and perhaps come in behind them. This only works if you begin your circle OUT OF SIGHT of the opposition.

DEER JOHN

Deer will bolt, but will only run so far and then stop. They are faster than their natural predators and can easily out-distance them in a short time. In your case, when you are being pursued and you are out of sight, you stop and wait for your pursuers. When they step into your sights, you let them have it and take off again. Keep doing this. They will either get really cautious, allowing you to escape, or they will figure you’re not worth the trouble and give up the chase.

GROUSE ME OUT

Whether you are walking in a city park or in the forest you may have been startled by the sudden rush of wings as a bird took flight, practically from under your feet. Birds do this because the suddenness and proximity to the predator is a momentary shock which confuses the predator. This is best done when you are undetected in the bushes and your opposition is close by. They have to be REALLY close, around 25 feet. You burst out of the bush and scream and fire and run right through them. This only works when they have no idea where you are. You should see how big their eyes get! I did this once, at one of those big games. Not only did I get away without a mark on me, four of the dozen or so, had been eliminated by yours truly. For a few seconds, they didn’t know whether to spit or wind their watches!

CHARGE IT

Some animals will charge directly at the predator. This usually throws them for a loop because they are expecting the prey to run AWAY! I had this used against me, and this is really the best example. We had a guy cornered against the boundary of a field. As we approached him, he opened fire. We returned fire. As he got up some one shouted “He’s getting ready to run!” . We rushed him. He didn’t run away from us, he rushed at us. He got me and another guy and got away scott free. Unfortunately, he also had our team’s flag.

FREEZE

Some animals will absolutely not move, no matter how close the predator comes. Unless they are directly threatened or sense their discovery, they stay perfectly still. This is the best thing to do if there are twenty of them and only one of you. Of course, they have to have no idea where you are. I’ve done this and it is VERY unnerving to just stand there and let them walk by. It takes a lot of guts to do this. I have to tell you, I broke into a cold sweat, but what a RUSH!

HERD MENTALITY

Many prey animals and fish stay in groups. This serves two purposes. One, it gives you that many more eyes and ears to detect predators. Two, the group can easily scatter (or at least appear to) when attacked, thus confusing a predator as it does not know which one to follow.

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