#3 - When frightened by hunters in a truck, healthy gazelles run away quickly,

[Hanin Abu Amara]

Complete Question Explanation

Resolve. The correct answer choice is (C).

We are presented with a paradox and asked to resolve it. The paradox is how come gazelle's react sot (jump) when they encounter a predator despite the fact it draws attention to them.

We can explain it by finding a benefit to the "sotting" that isn't necessary when frightened by trucks but is helpful when encountering a predator. Maybe the jumping scares predators away.

Answer choice (A): this doesn't address why they jump infant of predators despite the fact that jumping draws attention to them.

Answer choice (B): The stimulus was only concerned with healthy gazelles so unhealthy gazelles are irrelevant

Answer choice (C): This is the correct answer choice. This explains why gazelles sot. They scare away the predator and thus it has a benefit that explains why they do it.

Answer choice (D): this doesn't explain why the sot (jump). and therefore doesn't solve the paradox

Answer choice (E): Being able to hunt in groups doesn't explain the gazelle's behavior.

[Bruin96]

I picked C because it made the most sense. However, I wanted to make sure I eliminated A for the right reasons.

Answer choice A is too broad, correct? First, it says animals which we can assume are the gazelles. Then they mention that these animals were startled and we don't know whether the gazelles are "startled". And adding in that their behavior appears irrational to humans, is irrelevant, and has no impact. This answer doesn't resolve the idea that gazelles jump/leap/stot when they see lions even though it may be less efficient than running.

Whereas, C resolves the argument because it allows one to assume that lions may not want to attack a healthy gazelle that might escape. And gives an explanation that the gazelles stot rather than run to show signs of health and ability to escape predators as a deterrent.

[Rachael Wilkenfeld]

Hi Bruin,

You are absolutely spot on regarding answer choice (C). It's a great explanation for the paradox in the stimulus.

Answer choice (A) has a few problems. One, it doesn't actually explain why the animals behave in this way. It just sort of shrugs at you and goes "yep, that looks like a paradox right there." Unhelpful to say the least. But also, you are correct that we don't know the animals are startled by the predator at all. The stimulus tries to confuse us by using the word "frightened" to describe the animals' reaction to trucks. But the stimulus doesn't use any similar language regarding predators. It just uses the word "detects." So answer choice (A) is also relating to a different situation entirely.

By the way, for anyone curious, videos of animals stotting are absolutely adorable.

[gwlsathelp]

I selected E) "while not able to run as quickly as gazelles, predators such as lions hunt effectively by hunting in groups and coordinating their attacks," this was a viable answer for me because it explained a different response where the gazelle can't run away and stots as an evasive maneuver just in case the lion s attack. Let me know if there is a way to cut the fat out of my reasoning to get the correct answer.

[Adam Tyson]

On its face, stotting looks like it should cause gazelles a problem, gwlsathelp. The author has told us two things about it that make it seem like a bad decision on the part of the gazelles. To resolve that, we need the right answer to show an advantage gained by this behavior that could outweigh the disadvantages.

If answer E is true, stotting looks like potentially even worse behavior. Now, instead of drawing the attention of just one lion, the prey animal is potentially making their location known to multiple predators! Your view of it was creative, but it requires assuming that the behavior is triggered not merely by the presence of the predator but by the gazelle finding itself being boxed in and unable to escape easily. But the stimulus doesn't say they do it only in those situations; they apparently do it all the time when running from a predator they have detected approaching. If lions cannot outrun gazelles, why don't the gazelles just save their energy and run like heck?

Answer C gives stotting an advantage: it could potentially dissuade the predator from attacking. We've seen this sort of odd behavior from prey species on the LSAT before, most recently in PT78, the question about Babblers barking instead of staying quiet and relying on their ability to camouflage. When a prey animal does something that looks dumb, look for something about it that is actually smart and contributes to their survival!