The Intense 8 Hour Hunt | Attenborough Life of Mammals | BBC Earth

BBC Earth · 17.1M views · 2009 · 7:10

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Animals & natureEvolution & geneticsdocumentary

Why Hacker News recommends it

HN returns to it as the canonical footage of persistence hunting in threads about human endurance running and evolution.

What it is

A clip from Attenborough's Life of Mammals following a San tribesman in the Kalahari on an eight-hour persistence hunt, running down a kudu through harsh heat. It shows tracking, endurance running and the hunter's reaction after the kill.

Recommended by 6 HN commenters across 6 different months, 2010 to 2024.

What Hacker News said

Strong rec JPKab · 2012-08 · on “The humans who outrun horses”

[this video] This is a video of human hunters (Koi San, an African ethnic group that has been pushed to extinction over the last millennia by the Bantu tribes) chasing down a kudu antelope. Antelope are great runners, but they can't cool themselves as efficiently as humans. It's a beautiful video, and the way the hunter reacts after the kill is very moving.

Recommends liuhenry · 2011-02 · on “Belgian man completes 365 marathons in 365 consecutive days”

The San Bushmen in the Kalahari Desert still do this today. This BBC clip on persistence hunting (narrated by David Attenborough!) is worth a watch; their endurance is absolutely incredible: [this video]

Recommends Synaesthesia · 2013-09 · on “Why humans can outrun horses but can’t jump higher than cats.”

Check this remarkable video on persistence hunting in the kalahari - a hunter literally chases a buck until it's completely exhausted. [this video]

Recommends stanfordkid · 2017-02 · on “Bees can train each other to use tools”

Either that -- or our perception of morality is wrong. Maybe it's okay to eat animals as long as we treat them well. After all if they live a long happy and decently full life that's what really counts right? I think this video really gives a good idea of how humanity used to think of hunting and eating animals: [this video] We've really lost touch with our empathy for other creatures In the old days people would respect the animal, hug it after killing it... on some level I think animals understand that their own death is a part of life.

Recommends Fricken · 2017-05 · on “Why Walking Helps Us Think (2014)”

There's the loci method for memorization: The method of loci (loci being Latin for "places") is a method of memory enhancement which uses visualizations with the use of spatial memory, familiar information about one's environment, to quickly and efficiently recall information. The method of loci is also known as the memory journey, memory palace, or mind palace technique. Many memory contest champions claim to use this technique to recall faces, digits, and lists of words. These champions' successes have little to do with brain structure or intelligence, but more to do with using spatial memory and the use of the method of loci. [LINK] Correlations have been found between memory and the play

Recommends Andy_G11 · 2022-09 · on “Aleksandr Sorokin smashes 24-hour world record with 198.6 mile run”

Interesting video here of one of the San people running down a Kudu which collapses from exhaustion after an 8 hour chase: [this video] . Hard to compare this to Sorokin because the hunter is running in veld, not on a road, and has far less access to refueling points. Also, if he fails to track the prey down on day one, he would probably have a go again on day two, maybe even day three. Interesting claims too, that as an upright runner which sweats from glands all over his body, and as a creature capable of carrying water, man may have had persistence advantages over creatures with less ability to cool themselves and which run on four legs - a less energy efficient mode of running according to At

Cites etcet · 2011-04 · on “Ask HN: What are the changes you made in your life and never look back?”

> I am inclined to think we're built to go for a walk to a hunting ground, sprint and throw an arrow. The adaption to bipedalism actually reduced our sprinting capabilities and increased our endurance. It's likely that we used our superior endurance to chase down our prey over long distances far before we had arrows. See [this video]

Cites user2459 · 2012-04 · on “Humans hot, sweaty, natural-born runners”

"We’re the tortoises of the animal kingdom" ... That might be the deepest thing I've ever read. Also, here's Attenborough narrating this article [this video]