Have you ever seen a creature successfully prey on another?

subnauticambrian

Just asking this question in relation to this thread in ideas/suggestions, we brought up the point that a few of us aren't sure whether or not creatures are capable of killing one another.

Often times, I've seen predatory creatures chase after and attack prey species, but I personally have never seen one creature successfully kill another. The closest I ever got was a crabsquid that repeatedly attacked a jellyray in the DGR, but after a few hits the crabsquid gave up and left. So, have any of you ever seen a creature successfully kill another one? If so, what was the experience like- what circumstances, which creatures were involved, etc?

Myrm

I ofen see little fish being eaten by the snaggle-toothed kelp dwellers. Their yellow blood can be seen in the water.

subnauticambrian

Myrm wrote: »

I ofen see little fish being eaten by the snaggle-toothed kelp dwellers. Their yellow blood can be seen in the water.

Ah, interesting. I think I might have seen this before, but I never got too good of a look at it. The peepers just dissappear in a cloud of blood, don't they? Have you seen stalkers chasing and eating other creatures? Your feedback is greatly appreciated

TenebrousNova

I occasionally see and hear crashes going after gasopods. Once, I watched a crabsquid duel an ampeel. The crabsquid sustained too much damage and fled down the Lost River entrance.

I also spent time observing a sandshark near Aurora's wreckage that was soon accosted by a reaper leviathan. The sandshark was pronounced dead on the scene.

Fathom

I once had a Sandshark invade the Shallows and die to the Gasopod clouds. Also seen a Mesmer prey on small fish. I think every predator fish goes after the small food fishies. Even Sandsharks, though they're too slow and never catch up, so they end up in places chasing fish they never get. Oh and Bleeders actively go after corpses, even of their own species.

DrownedOut

I see sharks kill small fishes quite often and, yes, they do disappear in a yellow cloud. And I've also witnessed that same Aurora reaper off a sandshark. Recently, I saw a rabbit ray get killed by a gasopod's miasma cloud (either the game or this particular gasopod is bugged because sometimes when I near three times the gaspods it should produce). A ray killed like that simply goes into the death pose and floats up a bit.

Rezca

I see Reapers attack Sandsharks at times like Nova pointed out, and I see Stalkers and Sandsharks go at it whenever they cross each other's path.

Like right now I have two stalkers and four sandsharks within 50m of my lifepod. One of the stalkers was constantly being harassed by one of the sharks. I don't know if it managed to kill the shark, but it chased it away from my pod!

EnglishInfidel

Yep the predator classes often snap up smaller fish, especially Stalkers.

subnauticambrian

Ah yes, the gasopods... yes, I am aware of their deadly capabilities, and am personally grateful to them for clearing many a marauding sandshark from my safe shallows.

However, I am wondering about any distinctly predatory behavior in this case. That isn't to say you haven't all been helpful of course- we have now established the predatory behaviors of Mesmers, Ampeels, Sandsharks, and Reapers. However, we must hold ourselves to a higher standard! The keyword for us to investigate is "successful" predation- where the predator actually kills the prey. So far, we can only attest (with proof) to the reaper leviathan engaging in this behavior.

Ladies and gentlemen, nitpickers and sticklers, let us test the creatures of Subnautica! Pit them against one another in the heat of battle! Leave no data undiscovered!
Biology nerds... Assemble!

Ok, now that that's over with... basically I just want you all to help me out with determining which animals are capable of killing each other (ideally with screenshots). I would greatly appreciate it


EDIT: Thank you all for the pics, I find them especially awesome!
Oh, and one other thing: @Myrm, Why?! How do you disagree, I was only asking a question...

subnauticambrian

Allright everyone- I'm sure you've waited with baited (see what I did there ) breath for this (or, more accurately, you haven't seeing as this is nearing the bottom of the forums page ), but here are just a few of my results so far.

First off: I give you research base Alpha!

equipped with 3 different kinds of research chambers, this scientific seabase boasts the ability to analyse any size organism. Small testing chambers (observatories) off the back can be flooded at will to observe smaller predators such as the mesmer. Medium sized chambers such as the ones to the left (MRs) can be flooded to allow for observation of medium sized creatures- sand sharks, bone sharks, etc. Lastly, you will notice the hulking mound to the far right. This is the large research chamber- crafted out of rock, a hatch allows entry for viewing of large fauna- ampeels, crabsquids, etc. Leviathan-sized chamber in development. Thanks to state-of the art airlocks,

flooding in any of the interior chambers can be contained, allowing for dry analysis of data.

Trials: (in no particular order of creature)

Trial 1: Ampeel
Summary: Testing has concluded that the ampeel lives up to its predatory nature, devouring small fauna and killing big fauna alike. When encountering small creatures, the ampeel employs the "eating" method of coded predatory behavior- that is, the smaller fish disappears in a larger-than-usual blood cloud.

Ampeel with spadefish (directly in front of ampeel's mouth):

Ampeel post-chomp, spadefish vanished and blood-cloud remaining:

Follow up test: "Big" animals (I used the rabbitray, as it can fit in all chambers and I assumed it had one of the smallest health pools)

Ampeel can be observed biting the Rabbitray (note slight yellow blood cloud next to rabbitray as proof):

After a few assaults, the rabbitray succumbed: Note the upturned ears of the rabbitray and jerked tail (only seen on dead creatures) and ampeel in lower corner.

Trial 2: Mesmer (to follow)

After trial 2, request which creatures you'd like to see me test next! I'm planning on doing the stalker really quick, but if any of you are fast enough whoever comments first gets the first creature after that.

Rezca

I keep losing track of the post, but there was a thread where every creature in the game was spawned in large numbers in the grassy plataeus. Most creatures would indeed attack each other, with the Reaper having an unhealthy obsession with killing Sand Sharks. Sea Dragons attacked everything in equal measure, easily wiping every other creature out. THe Stalkers just kinda stuck to themselves but would openly attack other predators that drew near their little turf.


Predators can and will attack each other, but they're often not going to bump up against each other unless you scare one off into another's territory or release one that you hatched yourself into a foreign biome.

subnauticambrian

Rezca wrote: »

I keep losing track of the post, but there was a thread where every creature in the game was spawned in large numbers in the grassy plataeus. Most creatures would indeed attack each other, with the Reaper having an unhealthy obsession with killing Sand Sharks. Sea Dragons attacked everything in equal measure, easily wiping every other creature out. THe Stalkers just kinda stuck to themselves but would openly attack other predators that drew near their little turf.


Predators can and will attack each other, but they're often not going to bump up against each other unless you scare one off into another's territory or release one that you hatched yourself into a foreign biome.

SSSSHHHHHHH That's just a hypothesis...... I mean... We've got to be 100% sure, so let the testing re-commence! You never know, I might find something unusual as well!

subnauticambrian

Trial 2: Mesmer

Summary: The mesmer exhibits a markedly different predatory behavior than previous cases. It actively engages in predatory behaviors, attacking adjacent animals, however it is incapable of "eating". Any creature it attacks, large fauna or small fauna, dies and produces a corpse. The mesmer may attack the corpse after death, but at no point (other than respawning) does it disappear. Side Note: The mesmer can be seen using hypnosis on animals other than the player, however the hypnosis duration is often much shorter. Most commonly, the mesmer will suddenly lash out as the creature passes by.

Mesmer, placed in a tank containing spadefish. Note the cloud of blood and dead spadefish, however the spadefish does not disappear on death.

A premier image of Mesmer predation on a rabbitray. Note the cloud of blood, the upside down rabbitray (indicating death), and the mesmer wings slightly outstretched (indicating brief hypnosis).

P.S. There are a few other fauna in the tank in the second photo, including a dead biter and several dead spadefish. These are the result of a previous test.

subnauticambrian

Trial 3: Stalker

Summary: The stalker, perhaps the most familiar of the predators, behaves... exactly as you would expect. The two trials with small and large fauna revealed that the Stalker is capable of both killing large creatures and eating small ones.

Screenshot 1: Stalker, having just consumed a spadefish. Note the lack of a corpse, given how close the stalker is in relation to the blood cloud- indicating that it has just eaten a fish and the corpse has vanished

Now, before we move on to the next picture, be warned: I think there be bugs afoot! When spawning a stalker (or sandshark) inside a seabase, it appears to have an unintended effect... well, you'll see for yourself.

Pic 1: This is just for context of the size of both animals next to a seabase...

is it just me, or did someone get a little crazy with the reefback serum?

Pic 2: Here, the stalker has killed the sandshark- note the belly-up posture. And yes, I used a sandshark instead of a rabbitray. Some control group that is...

Alright, what creature do you want me to do next?

04Leonhardt

Seen Stalkers do it all the time.

Fathom

Alright, what creature do you want me to do next?

I'm curious which corpses can be devoured by Bleeders. I know they do bite big ones, too, just don't know if they can't remove it or if it only takes a while.

subnauticambrian

Fathom wrote: »

Alright, what creature do you want me to do next?

I'm curious which corpses can be devoured by Bleeders. I know they do bite big ones, too, just don't know if they can't remove it or if it only takes a while.

All right, will do! I'll test varying sizes of creature as well, so we get the full spectrum.

subnauticambrian

04Leonhardt wrote: »

Seen Stalkers do it all the time.

I know, so have I, but consider lets consider this a control group so we know "defualt" predatory behavior. As opposed to the mesmer, an "abnormal" predator

DC_Darkling

As a side note, I have seen sandsharks pop up out the sand attacking almost anything. (and eating if successful)

Jamezorg

subnauticambrian wrote: »

Allright everyone- I'm sure you've waited with baited (see what I did there ) breath for this (or, more accurately, you haven't seeing as this is nearing the bottom of the forums page ), but here are just a few of my results so far.

First off: I give you research base Alpha!

equipped with 3 different kinds of research chambers, this scientific seabase boasts the ability to analyse any size organism. Small testing chambers (observatories) off the back can be flooded at will to observe smaller predators such as the mesmer. Medium sized chambers such as the ones to the left (MRs) can be flooded to allow for observation of medium sized creatures- sand sharks, bone sharks, etc. Lastly, you will notice the hulking mound to the far right. This is the large research chamber- crafted out of rock, a hatch allows entry for viewing of large fauna- ampeels, crabsquids, etc. Leviathan-sized chamber in development. Thanks to state-of the art airlocks,

flooding in any of the interior chambers can be contained, allowing for dry analysis of data.

Trials: (in no particular order of creature)

Trial 1: Ampeel
Summary: Testing has concluded that the ampeel lives up to its predatory nature, devouring small fauna and killing big fauna alike. When encountering small creatures, the ampeel employs the "eating" method of coded predatory behavior- that is, the smaller fish disappears in a larger-than-usual blood cloud.

Ampeel with spadefish (directly in front of ampeel's mouth):

Ampeel post-chomp, spadefish vanished and blood-cloud remaining:

Follow up test: "Big" animals (I used the rabbitray, as it can fit in all chambers and I assumed it had one of the smallest health pools)

Ampeel can be observed biting the Rabbitray (note slight yellow blood cloud next to rabbitray as proof):

After a few assaults, the rabbitray succumbed: Note the upturned ears of the rabbitray and jerked tail (only seen on dead creatures) and ampeel in lower corner.

Trial 2: Mesmer (to follow)

After trial 2, request which creatures you'd like to see me test next! I'm planning on doing the stalker really quick, but if any of you are fast enough whoever comments first gets the first creature after that.

Dude, it probably won't help with your tests but ages ago I created a thread about how I spawned in a bunch of animals and made them fight. Unluckily, all of those creatures were killed by Se Dragons and Reapers, but a lot of the smaller guys fought and killed, and I did uncover some crazy little behaviours. I'll say what you might find interesting:

The stalkers stayed close together and orbited this one pillar for almost the entire fight. Also there's some cool silhouette madness going on.

These warpers converged on this sand shark with, which was cool for spoilery reasons while it lasted. But then when the sand shark noticed they warped away!

Don't know why they'd do that but... okay...

Imma research these dudes a lil more. And do the bone shark next... if you want, i dunno

subnauticambrian

Jamezorg wrote: »

Imma research these dudes a lil more. And do the bone shark next... if you want, i dunno

Alright, Bleeders and then bonesharks it is!

Also, wow those were some cool screenshots! and informative!

subnauticambrian

Alright, just a quick update- due to school, I've only been able to set up for the bleeder tests so far. I've decided to make a new base for any and all bleeder tests, due to the high volume of creatures (especially the small bleeders, which could wreak havoc on the surrounding framerates) that will be spawned.

Alright, as soon as I can run some tests on the bleeders I'll post my results, but here's some pics of the new base I've set up:

from the location of the beacons, I'm guessing you all have an idea of where the base is...
Following the tunnel at the bottom of the thermal vent, you come out into a small chamber:

There is an observatory for small creatures, then a tunnel leading to a larger hollowed-out chamber for big and medium creatures.
See you all next time!

subnauticambrian

Blood in the Water pt 1:

I have just completed the first half of the tests regarding bleeders and their appetite. Part one consisted of testing whether or not bleeders would attack small fauna that was alive or dead, in an enclosed environment (spawned inside an observatory). Part two will consist of which large creatures (predators and herbivores alike) bleeders will attack, whether they will attack them when the targets are alive or dead, and whether or not the bleeders can dispose of the corpses.

As part of test number one, no animal reskins (lava Eyeeye, lava Boomerang, and Spinefish) were included as they were assumed to have the same results as their original skinned animals (Eyeye, Boomerang, and Hoopfish). To facilitate the experiments, ~5 bleeders were placed in the observatory, and 3 fish from the small fauna category were spawned in at a time.

Summary:

The bleeders show a ravenous appetite for dead small fauna- in every single one of the tests, live small fauna were left completely alone. However, once the small fauna became deceased, the bleeders would simultaneously rush to attack it. In almost every case, the bleeders would completely devour the carcass after two bites (fun fact: This includes other bleeders). The one special case in this experiment was the spadefish, whose corpse does not disappear after any amount of scavenging by bleeders.

Below are the pictures from the experiment- they are numerous, bloody, and overall only tell you the information I have just laid out- so feel free to look at them only if you wish. In each case (except two, where the pictures were either blocked by a creature swimming in front of the camera or poorly timed) I have provided a shot of the dead creature, and then another of the blood cloud left behind after the bleeders ate it. The two special cases were the holefish and hoopfish... For the holefish a hoverfish photobombed the shot and I timed the camera on the hoopfish poorly- but you can take my word for it they behaved exactly like everyone else. Images below:

garryfish:
before:

after:

Bladderfish:
before:

after:

Eyeeye:

before:

after:

(the eye-eye was eaten right after this photo)

Hoverfish:
before:

after:

Boomerang:
before:

after:

Peeper:
before:

after:

Oculus (only one pic )

Reginald:
before:

after:

Hoopfish (just a pic of the bloodstain )

Spadefish: (note the fact that it does not disappear post-predation)
before:

after:

after:

Kisu

Since the new update I was at the ILZ for the first time and had the opportunity to watch a lava lizard chasing some lava larvas.
I pulled out my stasis rifle at the right time:

Morph_Guy

I wonder if they're ever going to make the eating affects more than just the creature poofing out existence

subnauticambrian

Blood in the water pt 2 coming soon folks. Sponsored by the Public Health and Safety Party (PHSP)

DrownedOut

subnauticambrian wrote: »

Trial 2: Mesmer

Summary: The mesmer exhibits a markedly different predatory behavior than previous cases. It actively engages in predatory behaviors, attacking adjacent animals, however it is incapable of "eating". Any creature it attacks, large fauna or small fauna, dies and produces a corpse. The mesmer may attack the corpse after death, but at no point (other than respawning) does it disappear. Side Note: The mesmer can be seen using hypnosis on animals other than the player, however the hypnosis duration is often much shorter. Most commonly, the mesmer will suddenly lash out as the creature passes by.

Mesmer, placed in a tank containing spadefish. Note the cloud of blood and dead spadefish, however the spadefish does not disappear on death.

A premier image of Mesmer predation on a rabbitray. Note the cloud of blood, the upside down rabbitray (indicating death), and the mesmer wings slightly outstretched (indicating brief hypnosis).

P.S. There are a few other fauna in the tank in the second photo, including a dead biter and several dead spadefish. These are the result of a previous test.

A little addition. I have a base on the bridge in the Eastern Mushroom Forest and there's a mesmer swimming around it. I noticed the creature leaves me corpses of boomerangs to pick up, but never hoopfishes or eyeyes. So I've followed it for a bit and eventually caught it mesmerizing a hoopfish. The hoopfish did disappear. So it seems prey type also plays a role.

Hydrowolf391

Oh! Biology yay!

I've seen...

Stalkers and such eating things like Peepers (as usual)
Reapers attempting to kill Sandsharks (I saw one pin a Sandshark to the seafloor, but the Sandshark escaped)
Stalkers eating Rabbit Rays

Nachoman

Yep one of the funnier things I have seen in the game. Recently dropped a few floaters outside my lifepod and they were just floating at the surface maybe 10m away from the pod for some time before a garryfish came along and got two floaters stuck to it, one on either side, it looked like the garryfish had water wings on, along came a stalker and gulp after a couple mins of swimming around with the two attached to it, pretty funny.

HiSaZuL

Me and reaper had a "disagreement" recently. It kept chasing me and I wouldn't have any of it only 5 days in but really lucky spawn so I was well equipped. It gotten to the point I already scanned him and we passed the entire length of Aurora and he still kept on following... eventually got a hit on me... I broke my knife on his head after which he got really pissed and mauled about 3 sandsharks before he finally 10 minutes later just left.

Most of carnivores/hostile wildlife prey on something. It's just herbivores that don't really do much. Nothing comes close to rabid swarms of biters or bleeders they go to town on anything you kill.

Myrm

I don't know what they are called but those orange biters in the blood kelp depths sounds like they are sniggering before they bite you.