Do ambush predators think about anything during the sedentary times of their lives?

My cat doesn’t think about much besides eating and sleeping in the sun.

Assuming that you’re talking about animals and not people, animals don’t think. Without a conscious mind, they can only react.

Why would they “think” of anything?

Yarnlady. Why would anything think of anything? Does a animal that is required by its limitations or behavior to remain very still for long periods of time for instance ‘think’ about anything during downtime?

Kritiper. I can only assume u haven’t had a relationship with an animal. Thank u for your thoughts tho.

What should I eat today?

Mimishu. What if u die tomorrow? Then the question carries more intrigue…Thanks for nothing.

I have observed many animals in my life and I was curious if anyone had any ideas about things like praying mantis, snakes, spiders, etc. What , or are they thinking when sitting still for most of their lives?

@MrGrimm888 I believe you are mistaking a thinking/planning act with a simple instinct. They do not think in the way that humans imagine. I have a dog that has dreams/nightmares and cries. It is my belief that most animals think only of past failers and such.

Simple instinct or ‘program ’ they follow . No disagreement. Do they have anything going on in their heads otherwise? Or do they have tunnel vision on their program or mission? Some animals spend most of their lives sedentary. Only moving when necessary. I feel like something must b goin on in their brain….Any guesses as to what? Or if nothing, why?

It all comes down to the factor of stimulants in their environment. When lets say, a pack of lioness relaxing under a tree and then a pack of hyena (stimulant) approach their area then the lioness will think about how to drive the hyenas out of their territory. You can call this instinct but their cooperative hunting behavior indicates advance cognitive capability which would easily qualify as ‘thinking’. When a lioness waiting to ambush a prey it will ‘think’ about the perfect moment to strike, or not to strike if the chances aren’t right, which I think more of a ‘thinking’ than pure instinct. This kind of ‘thinking’ behaviour also make certain animals are able to be trained by human using the reward system (how an animal will think that certain behaviour is expected and will produce food/benefit if performed. This isn’t instinctual). Different parts of of the brain are stimulated differently between thinking and instinct. However, I need to point out that only those blessed with complex brain structure can reach the point of thinking. Those with lesser brain structure all act based on pure instinct, such as ants, spiders, praying mantis, etc.

I wonder what goes on in the minds of those who watch the sedentary predators?

Oh the human arrogance displayed here.
“animals do not think”
“simple instinct”

Apes stacking boxes to reach a banana hung high up, is not “simple instinct”.
Apes using tools to harvest larvae from wood, is not “simple instinct”.
Orca teaching their young advanced group based hunting tactics to wash seals off their ice platforms is not “simple instinct”.
Birds deliberately placing nuts on roads so that passing cars crack them for them, is not “simple instinct”.
Octopodes learning to open the tightly closed lids on jars, is not “simple instinct”.
Dogs memorising the names of all their toys and then successfully deducing which toy to fetch when an unknown toy is named, is not “simple instinct”.

^ Yep. If there’s any one thing separating us from other animals, it may just be the collective arrogance.

@MrGrimm888 I was simply answering your question. That was one of what I thought was going on in their mind, given how much an animal needs to hunt for food. What’s your problem?

My best guess, as that is all anyone can give, would be that they spend an enormous amount of energy in ambushing their prey & so replenish this by resting in a state of mental slumber
Not true in respect to a sloth though, they’re just lazy bastards :D

Are you talking humans or animals?

Sorry mimishu. I suppose I’m too accustomed to smart ass answers from some people. I’m afraid my ‘cognitive ability’ didn’t take your answer literally.

So. Basically, most of u think that spiders and similar creatures aren’t much different than an single cell ed organism. And as u look up the food chain , some animals with higher cognitive ability get some credit. I know lots of animals dream. If their brain is working while asleep, then why not when awake but not doing anything?

The subconscious mind, which animals react with, never sleeps. If they had a reasoning, conscious, thinking mind, they would be like humans, which they aren’t. They don’t “think,” they just “do.”

Pretty sure the cats are dreaming about stuff and thinking about what they’re hearing, and how cozy they are, etc.

Kritiper. I disagree that they just ‘do.’ If all hunters just ‘did’ they would all do the exact same thing. But they don’t because some eat well and others starve. They must have different strategies and adjustments in order to succeed over a lifetime. Apparently some people don’t think much of some animals potential thought process or ability. However, I think they underestimate them.
These animals have to fight, capture and kill EACH time they eat. I just have to warm up a hot pocket. Many of these animals have to eat animals that are similar in size and strength to them, albeit with different weapons. I respect that and I certainly don’t envy that aspect of their lives.

Predators like the big cats hunt dusk until dawn and then spend most of the other hours in the day resting and conserving their energy for another nights hunting. They don;t actually “think” as humans do, and certainly they do not possess an ego that causes them to lie around and ruminate on things gone wrong. The Mountain Lion is not obsessing on it’s mistakes like humans do. ” Fuck, if only I had waited that extra few seconds last night before pouncing I could have had that deer.” lol

Animals dwell in the present moment and do not think of past or future, they live and act in the now.

@MrGrimm888 I suppose then if you are correct that you should ask your friendly neighborhood animal for the correct answer. After all, if they think like you say, they should be able to talk.
When I said they don’t think, they don’t have words or animal sounds running through their brains.
The last comment from @Coloma says it very well.

Just so this is clear: There is no hard evidence to suggest that animals don’t think. The fact that many species display amazing problem-solving skills makes instinct-based behavior very unlikely, actually. Occam’s razor should tell us to re-examine the dated beliefs we sustain, but that’s something most of us find very difficult.

Kritiper. FYI I do talk to them all the time. They never answer though.
I never said I was correct. I don’t have an amswer. I was hoping for some opinions from other naturalists whom may have observed these types of animals.
I mean, I thought fluther was a sight for thinkers. Nobody on this site ever looked at a spider sitting on a Web and thought about what it mite dream or think about while sitting on its web? So they just ‘zone out’ or daydream? Or yall are saying they have no real thought until they are ‘activated ’ by an external factor like seeing prey or feeling a bug in their web?

BTW I never thought that if they did think it was like we do….Saw that mixed in some here there.

Otherwise they are just programs. Like a Rumba or whatever that cleaning robot is. And the prey they hunt must be as well? Just a pre-scripted movie?

If they’re hungry, they hunt for food. If they have to 1 or 2, their conditioned response takes them where they need to go. When my old German Shepherd had to crap, it was once or twice a day, but take him for a walk and he’d lay 2 two loads in 5 minutes! Go figure!
Animals have no concept or direction as to where the sun comes up or where it goes down, or being born, life, or death. I think trial and error plays a big part in what they do in addition to their intelligence. I would swear my old dog had a superiority complex and a sense of humor, too. He could be as smart as anything and yet dumb as creek rock at the same time.

Kritiper. Thank you for your input 1st of all.
BTW , your old dog pooped more when it walked with you because of the increase in activity. If you buy a hamster, or any other animals at the store, you’ll notice that the animal usually clears it’s bowels several times otw home from the store and when 1st in your home. That is physiology. Indeed some animals mark their territories with urine and feces as well.
Anyway. IMO , dogs seem smart sometimes because in that instance where you thought that, it was something that probably you and the dog both understood the situation and similarities between us and what we perceive. The animal seems dumb other times because it doesn’t share your perception of the situation. They see the world and what goes on differently than us. Your dog couldn’t explain why eating another animals poop is great to us either. I think they think maybe about a lot of stuff. But there is a communication barrier obviously. Aside from thought or thinking, some more advanced animals , like dogs, have idiosyncrasies and other traits that make them ‘unique’ amungst their own species.
You think your dog just layed down with its brain off until stimulated?

To what extent animals actively think depends on how often they are allowed to, in my opinion. Our pets tend to lead lifestyles which offer very little room to make decisions or tackle problems. It’s possible to teach them how to think – I train dogs for a living, and I see this every day.

My young dog (Wilson) and I spent some time on an abandoned playground yesterday. We were playing ball. I put one of the balls up on the playing structure, which consisted of three triangular platforms of varying height. Wilson wanted that ball. He stared at it, looked at me, then casually walked to the platform that’s lowest, most easily accessible. It also happened to be the one farthest away from me, about ten metres. He jumped up, then climbed on the second and went on to retrieve his ball from the highest platform.

Yes, I could explain all this away with instinct. It would be difficult to, though. There definitely was no trial and error involved, and Wilson had never been anywhere near that place before.

@MrGrimm888 When my old dog laid down it was because he was tired and it seemed the thing to do. He didn’t think “Hey! I’m tired. I think I’ll take a nap.” When he was thirsty he didn’t think “I wonder if the toilet seat is up?” He would just do it. Like when you’re skiing down a hill and you’re singing to yourself. You’re not thinking about every nuance of skiing, you’re just doing it. Or like when you walk. Do you constantly remind yourself to keep your balance and place one foot in front of the other? No. You just do it. Your subconscious mind is the mind that’s in control. It knows what to do without your constant conscious input. Animals can be intelligent but have no conscious meditative thought, no contemplation of their actions.
Humans are of two minds: the conscious reasoning thinking voluntary mind and the subconscious instinctive involuntary mind. Animals are of one mind: the subconscious.

Not sure I agree but , but I like it. Nice job kritiper.