Hunting

Hunting Channel: #Battalia

Wolves are predators and hunt in a large group namely their pack. They prey on the abundant supply of available food near the territory. Wolves usually hunt moose, elk, deer, mountain goat and small rodents like rabbit, mice and snakes. Wolves will kill only to eat and survive like every other organism on this planet.

Wolves are nocturnal animals and like to avoid the day heat by hunting at dusk or at night. When wolves hunt, they use a special kind of tactic that isn’t always successful. When hunting wolves will make a certain selection in their prey. Namely looking for a weakness or advantage. Even though wolves are strong they must rely on numbers to successfully hunt and bring down a large animal like a moose or elk. So when hunting, wolves will sometimes pressure a herd to move, ensuring that the weak, injured or sick will fall behind. Once that animal falls behind, the pack will sometimes circle around it, cutting it off from the rest of the herd and pressure it until it tires itself. Then the pack can move in and take it down easier. Sometimes larger prey like moose and elk will take to rivers and water in hopes to dislodge their pursuers, but the wolves will wait until the animal tires itself. Wolves attack the flank of an animal and use their weight to try and trip it or go for the nose and throat to cut off its air way.

During the feast, the Alphas will normally eat, then pace about the kill, allowing a certain pecking order of wolves who are allowed to eat. Standing guard the Alpha only allows certain wolves to feast, the others must wait. The Alpha especially keeps an eye out for scavengers or the Omega wolf who will sometimes try to sneak a piece which is hardly ever successful because a pack member will attack the Omega in protest to its unwanted advancement.

Wolves are very important to the ecosystem, they are one of the key stone predators within their founding habitats. Wolves hunt the sick, old, injured and weak animals, leaving nothing but the healthy animals in turn. This ensures a healthy establishment within the population of wild game the wolves eat, keeping disease down as well the population of wild game. Without the wolf, grazing environment would be over populated and eventually the herbivores would end up starving to death. You take out the wolf and you shift the balance in the ecosystem.

Packs of wolves cooperatively hunt any large herbivores in their range. Pack hunting revolves around the chase, as wolves are able to run for long periods before relenting. It takes meticulous cooperation for a pack to take down a large prey animal, but the success rate of such chases is actually very low. Wolves, in the interest of saving energy, will only chase any one potential prey animal for the first thousand or so meters before giving up and trying again at a different time with a different prey. Hence, like most other pack species, wolves must hunt continually to sustain themselves. Solitary wolves depend more on smaller animals, capturing them by pouncing and pinning them to the ground with their front paws— a common technique among canids such as foxes and coyotes.

Wolves' diets include, but are not limited to, elk, caribou, moose, deer, and other large ungulates. The American Bison is probably the largest animal wolves prey on, with bison exceeding a ton having been taken down by a pack. They also prey on rodents, small animals, and other canids like foxes and coyotes in a limited manner, as a typical adult wolf requires a minimum of 1.1 kg (2.5 lb) of food per day for sustenance, but approximately 2.2 kg (5 lb) to reproduce successfully; however, this certainly doesn't mean that a wolf will get the chance to eat everyday. In fact, wolves rarely eat on a daily basis, so they compensate by eating up to a maximum of 10 kg (22 lb) at a single sitting when they get the chance.

When pursuing large prey, wolves generally attack from all angles, targeting the necks and sides of such animals. Wolf packs test large populations of prey species by inducing a chase, targeting less-fit individuals; such animals typically include the elderly, diseased, and young. Healthy animals may also succumb through circumstance or by chance. However, most healthy, fit individuals will stand their ground against wolves, increasing the possibility of injury for the wolves involved, which makes the weaker members of a species comparatively easier and safer to hunt.

Like many other keystone predators, wolves are sensitive to fluctuations in prey abundance, making them likely to experience minor changes within their own populations as the abundance of their primary prey species gradually rises and drops over long periods of time. This balance between wolves and their prey prevents the mass starvation of all species involved.

Commands:
!info = Gives you you're wolf's stats
!stats WolfName = Gives you stats on another wolf ie: !stats Kovo

!cache = Will check what is in the cache (available food to eat)
!eat (animalname) = You eat the animal in the cache (make sure to check in #battalia where food is)
!drink = Allows you to take a drink from the river / stream
] = Sniffs small prey
]] = Sniffs medium prey (only members of the pack can use this)
]]] = Sniffs large prey (only the Alpha/Beta/Lead Hunter can use this)
!hunt (animal name) = This will activate the hunt. ie: !hunt Hare
,, = Attacks the animal
!fish = Scouts for fish
!swat = Attacks fish


1. HP/EXP
* You get HP (Hit/Health Points) and EXP (Experience) points within the bot. All wolves start at 12HP and 100EXP (if your a member)
* You gain EXP (Experience) points by hunting or sparring

2. 0 HP's (Dying in the bot)
* Though we try to keep a record of who is on a LOA or not its hard to keep track of all the wolves so it is YOUR responsibility to be active in the bot and keep your HP's up. Your HP will lower 1hp every day. This means if you're going to be on a LOA or be gone from the pack for a long period of time PLEASE TELL THE ALPHA OR PM THE BOT TO BE PUT ON A LOA.

* 0hp means you're 'dead' in the bot but not IC. However the consiquences for reaching 0hp in the bot gets you banned from the bot for 1 week. This means you will not be re-added or allowed to use it to hunt or participate in hunts. You must keep in mind it is a daunting task and very frustrating to have to keep restoring people in the bot when they reach 0hps. You should keep ontop of your wolf in the bot or request not to be added.

Ban Chart:
0 HP = 1 week
-2 HP = 2 weeks
-5 hp = 3 weeks
-10hp = 1 month
-15hp = Removal from the bot until you can return

3. Role Playing Out The Hunt
* Make sure when you're role playing out the hunt you role play out each of your rolls.
* Post your attack -> Roll -> Post your action (ie: what happened. Did you hit it? did the animal hit you? did you miss?)

Example:
* Kovo keeping alongside the Elk she would eye another opening. The potential prey was fast but she was faster and having the upper hand in weakening the creature she would press her luck. Without warning she would tense her muscles and leap for the left exposed shoulder!
* Kovo ,,
(Taelia) Kovo rolls 12,18
(Taelia) The Elk kicks at Kovo but misses
(Taelia) Kovo hits the elk for (-2hp)
(Taelia) The Elk has 15hps left
* Kovo as she got a solid hit on the shoulder she would feel her teeth sink into flesh. Ripping her head around she would feel the blood run down the edges of her muzzle. Satisified she would drop back down and continue to press on after the Elk.

4. The Kill
* After the kill is made it is posted in the TOPIC where the kill is located if not dragged back to the clearing. Sometimes it is dragged back to the clearing and somtimes it is left where it was hunted because realisticly wolves will hunt for miles on end for prey and can't drag a 1k+ pound animal back to the others.