Editing Predation (section)

===Practical uses===

Humans, as [[omnivore]]s, are to some extent predatory,<ref name="DarimontFoxBryanReimchen2015">{{cite journal |last1=Darimont |first1=C. T. |last2=Fox |first2=C. H. |last3=Bryan |first3=H. M. |last4=Reimchen |first4=T. E. |title=The unique ecology of human predators |journal=Science |volume=349 |issue=6250 | date=20 August 2015 |doi=10.1126/science.aac4249 |pmid=26293961 |pages=858–860 |bibcode=2015Sci...349..858D| s2cid=4985359 }}</ref> using weapons and tools to [[fishing|fish]],<ref>{{cite book|first=Otto |last=Gabriel |author2=von Brandt, Andres |year=2005 |publisher=Blackwell|title=Fish catching methods of the world | isbn=978-0-85238-280-6}}</ref> [[hunting|hunt]] and [[animal trapping|trap]] animals.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Griffin |first1=Emma |title=Blood Sport: Hunting in Britain Since 1066 |date=2008 |publisher=Yale University Press|isbn=978-0300145458}}</ref> They also use other predatory species such as [[Hunting dog|dogs]], [[cormorant]]s,<ref>{{cite book |author=King, Richard J. |title=The Devil's Cormorant: A Natural History |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ucGyAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA9 |date=1 October 2013 |publisher=University of New Hampshire Press |isbn=978-1-61168-225-0 |page=9}}</ref> and [[falcon]]s to catch prey for food or for sport.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Glasier |first1=Phillip |title=Falconry and Hawking |date=1998 |publisher=Batsford |isbn=978-0713484076}}</ref> 
Two mid-sized predators, dogs and cats, are the animals most often kept as [[pet]]s in western societies.<ref name="Aegerter Fouracre Smith p=e0174709">{{cite journal |last1=Aegerter |first1=James |last2=Fouracre |first2=David |last3=Smith |first3=Graham C. | editor-last=Olsson | editor-first=I Anna S |title=A first estimate of the structure and density of the populations of pet cats and dogs across Great Britain |journal=PLOS ONE|volume=12 |issue=4 | date=2017 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0174709 |pmid=28403172 |pmc=5389805 | page=e0174709|bibcode=2017PLoSO..1274709A |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=The Humane Society of the United States |title=U.S. Pet Ownership Statistics |url=http://www.humanesociety.org/issues/pet_overpopulation/facts/pet_ownership_statistics.html |access-date=27 April 2012}}</ref>
Human hunters, including the [[San people|San]] of southern Africa, use [[persistence hunting]], a form of pursuit predation where the pursuer may be slower than prey such as a [[kudu]] antelope over short distances, but follows it in the midday heat until it is exhausted, a pursuit that can take up to five hours.<ref name="Liebenberg20089">{{cite journal |last=Liebenberg |first=Louis |title=The relevance of persistence hunting to human evolution |journal=Journal of Human Evolution |year=2008 |volume=55 |issue=6 |pages=1156–1159 |doi=10.1016/j.jhevol.2008.07.004 |pmid=18760825 |bibcode=2008JHumE..55.1156L }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2002/10_october/31/progs6-10_mammalspack.pdf |title=Food For Thought |publisher=[[British Broadcasting Corporation]] |work=[[The Life of Mammals]] |date=31 October 2002}}</ref> 
 
In [[biological pest control]], predators (and parasitoids) from a pest's natural range are introduced to control populations, at the risk of causing unforeseen problems. Natural predators, provided they do no harm to non-pest species, are an environmentally friendly and sustainable way of reducing damage to crops and an alternative to the use of chemical agents such as [[pesticide]]s.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Flint |first1=Mary Louise |last2=Dreistadt |first2=Steve H. |title=Natural Enemies Handbook: The Illustrated Guide to Biological Pest Control |date=1998 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-21801-7 }}{{pn|date=July 2024}}</ref>