--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: PREDATORS RUN FOR THEIR DINNER. PREY RUN…" description: "\"“PREDATORS RUN FOR THEIR DINNER. PREY RUN FOR THEIR LIVES. —OLD ECOLOGIST’S PROVERB”\" — Peter Watts" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/359/peter-watts-4020_hunting_predators-run-for-their-dinner-prey-run_2210071.png" --- # PREDATORS RUN FOR THEIR DINNER. PREY RUN FOR THEIR LIVES… ![“PREDATORS RUN FOR THEIR DINNER. PREY RUN FOR THEIR LIVES. —OLD ECOLOGIST’S PROVERB” quote by Peter Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/359/peter-watts-4020_hunting_predators-run-for-their-dinner-prey-run_2210071.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/359/peter-watts-4020_hunting_predators-run-for-their-dinner-prey-run_2210071.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/359/peter-watts-4020_hunting_predators-run-for-their-dinner-prey-run_2210071.png) > ““PREDATORS RUN FOR THEIR DINNER. PREY RUN FOR THEIR LIVES. —OLD ECOLOGIST’S PROVERB”” [Peter Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-watts/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote contrasts predator and prey behavior to illustrate survival instincts in nature, implying that those who chase goals succeed while those who avoid danger merely survive. **In simple terms:** Predators chase, prey flee; success vs. survival. Key Takeaway Focus on proactive pursuit rather than avoidance. Themes survival instinct motivation Mood determined urgent Type aphilosophical inspirational When to use this quote - business strategy - personal ambition - risk management Key Concepts evolutionary biology goal orientation Questions to Reflect On - How do you differentiate between chasing goals and merely surviving? - What risks are you avoiding that could lead to growth? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dinner Prey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dinner-prey-4889786/) [Ecologist Proverb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ecologist-proverb-4889785/) [Hunting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hunting/) [Predators](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/predators/) [Predators Run](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/predators-run-497737/) [Prey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prey/) ## Related quotes > [“As for she's concerned the world has two king of people in it: predators and prey.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claudia-gray/as-for-she-s-concerned-the-world-has-two-king-of-people-in-it/) [Claudia Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claudia-gray/) > [“There was something delightfully intimate about the relationship between predator and prey.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nenia-campbell/there-was-something-delightfully-intimate-about-the-relationship/) [Nenia Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nenia-campbell/) > [“Here are the prey; there are the predators; but, the challenge remains: Be neither.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-fitzgerald/here-are-the-prey-there-are-the-predators-but-the-challenge-remains/) [Judith Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-fitzgerald/) > [And there are very few wild animals that can't run down a human being; the big predators would run down Usain Bolt without even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-backshall/and-there-are-very-few-wild-animals-that-can-t-run-down-a-human-being/) [Steve Backshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-backshall/) > [I think people are frustrated in this society, where predators prey upon normal, law-abiding citizens, and you never see justice in the courtroom. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-seagal/i-think-people-are-frustrated-in-this-society-where-predators-prey/) [Steven Seagal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-seagal/) > [“Once you kill the predator inside you, you become prey.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tamerlan-kuzgov/once-you-kill-the-predator-inside-you-you-become-prey/) [Tamerlan Kuzgov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tamerlan-kuzgov/) > [“Jodie had said that if a bird becomes different from the others -- disfigured or wounded -- it is more likely to attract a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/delia-owens/jodie-had-said-that-if-a-bird-becomes-different-from-the-others/) [Delia Owens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/delia-owens/) > [Black widows may be powerful predators, but every predator is somebody else's prey.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel/black-widows-may-be-powerful-predators-but-every-predator-is-somebody/) [Lionel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel/) > [“I’m telling you, Claire. It doesn’t matter. What you were wearing. What you look like. Nothing. Watch the nature channel. Predators go for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mindy-mcginnis/i-m-telling-you-claire-it-doesn-t-matter-what-you-were-wearing-what/) [Mindy McGinnis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mindy-mcginnis/) > [Predators and prey always coexist. That's why we have galleries as well as photographers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-jay/predators-and-prey-always-coexist-that-s-why-we-have-galleries-as/) [Bill Jay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-jay/) > [We raise predators by treating children as prey.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stefan-molyneux/we-raise-predators-by-treating-children-as-prey/) [Stefan Molyneux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stefan-molyneux/) > [Horses are prey animals, and most of the other animals that I've shot are predators. If you act mellow with predators, they know that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-greenberg/horses-are-prey-animals-and-most-of-the-other-animals-that-i-ve-shot/) [Jill Greenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-greenberg/) > [“...as zookeepers, the Zabinskis understood both vigilance and predators; in a swamp of vipers, one planned every footstep. Shaped by the gravity of wartime,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-ackerman/as-zookeepers-the-zabinskis-understood-both-vigilance-and-predators/) [Diane Ackerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-ackerman/) > [Our retinas and brains have been wired by a hundred million years of evolution to find outlines in a visually complex landscape. This helps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/our-retinas-and-brains-have-been-wired-by-a-hundred-million-years-of/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [“Predators seem beautifully 'designed' to catch prey animals, while the prey animals seem equally beautifully 'designed' to escape them. Whose side is God on?66”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/predators-seem-beautifully-designed-to-catch-prey-animals-while-the/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) ## More by Peter Watts > [People aren't rational. We're not thinking machines, we're - we're feeling machines that happen to think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-watts/people-aren-t-rational-we-re-not-thinking-machines-we-re-we-re/) [Peter Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-watts/) > [“You are all sleepwalkers, whether climbing creative peaks or slogging through some mundane routine for the thousandth time. You are all sleepwalkers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-watts/you-are-all-sleepwalkers-whether-climbing-creative-peaks-or-slogging/) [Peter Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-watts/) > [“Evolution has no foresight. Complex machinery develops its own agendas. Brains — cheat. Feedback loops evolve to promote stable heartbeats and then stumble upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-watts/evolution-has-no-foresight-complex-machinery-develops-its-own-agendas/) [Peter Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-watts/) > [“The Zodiac had rearranged itself into a precise grid of bright points with luminous tails. It was as though the whole planet had been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-watts/the-zodiac-had-rearranged-itself-into-a-precise-grid-of-bright-points/) [Peter Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-watts/) > [There's no such things as survival of the fittest. Survival of the most adequate, maybe. 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Only fools revealed their birthdays.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-watts/the-math-was-irrefutable-the-one-winning-strategy-was-concealment/) [Peter Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-watts/) > [“Hey, chaotic trajectories are just as deterministic as any other kind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-watts/hey-chaotic-trajectories-are-just-as-deterministic-as-any-other-kind/) [Peter Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-watts/) [Explore all 112 Peter Watts quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-watts/) ## More Hunting quotes > [“(Quoting her friend Tom Black on an amateur hunter's injury:) "Lion, rifles -- and stupidity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beryl-markham/quoting-her-friend-tom-black-on-an-amateur-hunter-s-injury-lion/) [Beryl Markham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beryl-markham/) > [“The most prolific and accomplished hunters were not the most bloodthirsty and indefatigable. They were the most cool and empathetic. They were the ones…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-dutton/the-most-prolific-and-accomplished-hunters-were-not-the-most/) [Kevin Dutton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-dutton/) > [Some friends and I, we went right up there behind the studio and we got on a train, we could tell it was going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-t-vollmann/some-friends-and-i-we-went-right-up-there-behind-the-studio-and-we/) [William T. Vollmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-t-vollmann/) > [I'm not looking and I don't go hunting. I'm the type who's got to be found.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-brett/i-m-not-looking-and-i-don-t-go-hunting-i-m-the-type-who-s-got-to-be/) [Jeremy Brett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-brett/) > [Go afield with a good attitude, with respect for the wildlife you hunt and for the forest and fields in which you walk. Immerse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-bear/go-afield-with-a-good-attitude-with-respect-for-the-wildlife-you-hunt/) [Fred Bear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-bear/) > [Until the lion learns to speak, the tales of hunting will be weak.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-naan/until-the-lion-learns-to-speak-the-tales-of-hunting-will-be-weak/) [K'naan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-naan/) > [“Good hunting partners are hard to find.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/good-hunting-partners-are-hard-to-find/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [I think we have two conflicting traditions in this country. I think it's important for us to recognize that we've got a tradition of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/i-think-we-have-two-conflicting-traditions-in-this-country-i-think-it/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [I have a lot of guns on my ranch. I don't use them for hunting. I'm not a hunter. It's for protection. The Second…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-norris/i-have-a-lot-of-guns-on-my-ranch-i-don-t-use-them-for-hunting-i-m-not/) [Chuck Norris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-norris/) > [I take really good care of myself. I promised myself long ago that I would never miss a hunting season, never poison my sacred…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-nugent/i-take-really-good-care-of-myself-i-promised-myself-long-ago-that-i/) [Ted Nugent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-nugent/) > [The doctor didn't want me to play golf anymore and was worried about me fly-fishing. 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