Hunger Games is one interesting movie especially if you think about the survival skills portrayed by each character and the intelligence one has to have in order to survive. None the less, it a game where there is need of only one lone winner.

In this game, we have the prey, the predator and several introduced species. You get to be the prey if you are not strong enough or wise enough and the predator seems to possess great defense skills and is very strong.  Although there are no apex predators since everyone wants you dead one way or another, events such as fire outbreak, presence of  tracker jachers, which are genetically engineered wasps, poisonous berries and beasts, which were introduced, work on reducing the population. (Killing characters quickly making the game ends faster).

The adaptations of each character are quite similar to animals in the wild whether you are the prey or the predator. The predator, in the hunger games, is seen to search, detect, attack and kill, whereas in the wild, the predator is known to detect attack, capture and consume. This is one of the major differences.

Social predation and ambush of a prey is observed. This method enables the characters to kill the strongest character. In the wild, predators such as lions, African wild dogs and wolves hunt in packs enabling them to kill large animals.  A pack of dogs will run their prey, wildebeest, to exhaustion and close in for the kill, mostly led by the dominant male and female. The predators work together to head off the victim’s attempt to escape.

Mimicry and camouflage. Peeta, one of the characters, is able to paint himself and resemble his surrounding environment as in the case where he resembled dried out mud. This enabled him to hide from his competitors. Camouflage, to many animals in the wild is a form of defense or as I like to call it, ‘defense through disguise’. This is seen in the chameleon, well known to change color to fit in its surrounding environment. Some species of insects avoid predators by having developed almost uncanny resemblance to the leaves, grass or bark of their habitats. A treehopper may look like a thorn alongside other thorns. Species that avoid the attention of predators survive to pass on their genes.

Armor/defense weaponry. Spears, swords, daggers, knives and arrows are used by the characters to fight and possibly kill their opponents.  A solid shield of body armor gives the best protection against predators in the wild. Pangolins and armadillos possess shields of scales which protect them in times of danger. Porcupines and hedgehogs are armed with thousands of sharp spines on their bodies which on protrusion few animals will attack and risk a barrage of spines in their flesh.

Hiding from  predators. Katiniss is seen climbing a tree to stay on high ground. This skill enables her not to be seen by her opponents. Katiniss and Peeta hide in a cave, thus preventing them from been seen, Rue is very good at climbing trees and moving from tree to tree, eventually keeping these characters safe. Bats, in the wild, live in caves, keeping them safe from their predators. Two toed sloths and three toed sloths are arboreal creatures. The two toed sloth only descends to defecate and swim. Monkeys are very good at swinging from one tree to another keeping them safe from predators.

Traps.  A net in hunger games was used when Rue was caught in one which led to her death when Katiniss came to rescue her and she is speared and dies. In the wild, animals tend to lie in wait. The desert udder, found in the Namib Desert hides in the sand and only his eyes are visible waiting for prey. By hiding and remaining motionless, it ensures that a victim, such as a mouse, will get close enough for it to strike.

The life of a prey animal always hangs in the balance, for it never knows if it has made a serious error until a lion has flung itself into the final rush. Yet prey is not constantly alert; it does not anticipate momentary death. George B. Schaller, Golden Shadows, Flying Hooves, 1974.

‘Happy hunger games and may the odds be ever in your favor’.