Yeah, movement rules for herd/flock/school animals are hardwired and executed rapidly and instinctively - watch the flow of a flock of birds or school of fish for best effect. Predators have a much more conscious system of tracking, and it seeks to identify individual targets for lunch - note the confusion resulting when the herd sticks close together and a single animal cannot be identified.
I think the original quotation is worded poorly, and thus your conclusion is flawed not because of any lack of mental capacity but because it relied on a poor premise. Being part of a herd makes you good at being part of a herd, which is really a large number of moving objects, not a single one.
Also, don't confuse herd/nonherd with prey/predators. Canines are definitely pack animals, but not herd prey animals. The pack and hierarchy characteristics of canines make them more suited for guiding than the solitary nature of felines, since it makes them easier to train and keep in a subordinate position while working.
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Date: 2007-01-29 04:32 pm (UTC)I think the original quotation is worded poorly, and thus your conclusion is flawed not because of any lack of mental capacity but because it relied on a poor premise. Being part of a herd makes you good at being part of a herd, which is really a large number of moving objects, not a single one.
Also, don't confuse herd/nonherd with prey/predators. Canines are definitely pack animals, but not herd prey animals. The pack and hierarchy characteristics of canines make them more suited for guiding than the solitary nature of felines, since it makes them easier to train and keep in a subordinate position while working.