tal , (edited )
@tal@lemmy.today avatar

As mammals go, we're probably pretty good in terms of the direct effects of heat. Humans are exceptional at dumping heat. We have sweat glands all over our body, little hair, and are among the physically-most-capable critters out there capable of sustained physical exertion in hot environments.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persistence_hunting

Persistence hunting, also known as endurance hunting or long-distance hunting, is a variant of pursuit predation in which a predator will bring down a prey item via indirect means, such as exhaustion, heat illness or injury. Hunters of this type will typically display adaptions for distance running, such as longer legs, temperature regulation, and specialized cardiovascular systems.

Humans are some of the best long distance runners in the animal kingdom; some hunter gatherer tribes practice this form of hunting into the modern era. Homo sapiens have the proportionally longest legs of all known human species, but all members of genus Homo have cursorial adaptions not seen in more arboreal hominids such as chimpanzees and orangutans.

Persistence hunting can be done by walking, but with a 30 to 74% lower rate of success than by running or intermittent running. Further while needing 10 to 30% less energy, it takes twice as long. Walking down prey, however, might have arisen in Homo erectus, preceding endurance running. Homo erectus may have lost its hair to enhance heat dissipation during persistence hunting, which would explain the origin of a characteristic feature of the genus Homo.

We may not be super-fast. We're not poisonous. Our teeth aren't all that impressive, nor our "claws". But we are really good at keeping on going in extreme heat conditions.

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