Monster Hunter : What is an “Apex Predator”? – Game of Faune

Escorted by a few members of the tribe, you enter the heart of this village lost between two foothills. As you dismount from your bird, you are captivated by the decoration of the houses. Even though they are made only of mud bricks, they are beautifully decorated with bright purple gems. These gems are everywhere. Arranged in concentric circles on the walls and doors, or hung like wind chimes in the alleys, they tinkle in the wind. It’s a unique sound that catches your attention. Talking to the villagers, you understand that it is not so much the colors of these stones that are important as their sound. The Gemchimes, as they are called in this village of Kunafa, are not only used to ward off spirits. They also repel attacks from monsters, which seem to be paralyzed by the sound of these bells. Yet they are only stones…

GAME OF FAUNE – ÉPISODE 5

SUCCESSION OF THE LIGHT

It is often said that nature is a balance. But it is very difficult to put this into concrete terms. So in science, we build pyramids. And in these ecological pyramids, we classify living beings according to their “importance” in the environment they inhabit. At the base, although not always represented, are decomposers such as fungi and earthworms. As their name suggests, they enable the decomposition and recycling of organic matter, which is produced by primary and secondary producers, a category that includes all plants. Next come the consumers of this organic matter, i.e., animals. In order, these are small animals such as insects, then herbivores, carnivores, and finally, those who rule over the entire pyramid, the superpredators, or apex predators. That’s the theory. But in reality, there are many more elements, and all these elements interact with each other in what are called Food Webs. These interactions depend on climate, geography, biodiversity, soil quality, and thousands of other parameters that it is very important not to disrupt.

The fact remains that ecological pyramids and food webs are very important concepts in the Monster Hunter series. For the past twenty years, as technology has advanced, the development teams behind this Capcom series have been creating increasingly tangible frameworks for establishing their ecosystems. The latest major effort to date is the addition of a three-part seasonal system of abundance, transition, and decline in the latest episode of the series, Monster Hunter Wilds. (Although in reality, a similar system had been introduced in Monster Hunter Dos on PS2). In addition to major aesthetic changes due to different weather conditions, these cycles will punctuate the life of each creature, from breeding birds to large migratory herbivores, until the arrival of the great superpredators, those who reign supreme over their territory. Those who have best adapted to the harsh conditions will be crowned. In Monster Hunter Wilds, there are four who share the laurels. The Rey Dau, streaking through sandstorms, to whom we owe our famous gemchimes (or fulgurites), the Uth Duna, a large whale from the scarlet forest, swimming during torrential rains; the Nu Udra, a more agile cephalopod, slipping through the fiery corridors of the oil basin; and the impressive Jin Dahaad, basking in its ice cathedral. They all share the title of “Apex Predator,” a term used in the game to characterize their importance at the top of the food chain.

JOURNEY TO THE TRUTH

But what exactly is an “Apex Predator”? And could the definition apply to the creatures in Monster Hunter? Let’s just say… it’s complicated. The defintion of an Apex Predator remains ambiguous to this day, so much so that several teams of scientists have ventured to propose a definition. In any case, everyone seems to agree on two points: the first is that an Apex Predator has no predators (something more debates today) and regulates the density of prey and smaller “Secondary Predators” or “Mesopredators.” But beyond that, the definition becomes multifaceted. Sometimes it implies that the superpredator has a low reproduction rate, sometimes that it must have a huge home range (the area in which the animal lives and where it can meet all its needs), and some scientists even propose a notion ofself-regulation or a role as an Engineer Species. Engineer Species are capable, through their actions, of maintaining, transforming, or even destroying their environment. A typical example would be the beaver, which builds dams, altering water flow. But what is the relationship between a predator, its prey, and the transformation of its environment? Let’s look at a fascinating example.

Absent for seventy years, wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone Park in 1995. This action led to the displacement of deer populations which, without predators to control them, were able to graze freely, preventing plants and trees from growing. This migration allowed the vegetation in the gorges and valleys, where the deer were most vulnerable, to flourish and birds to come to these new forests. These forests in turn reduced erosion of the riverbanks, which resulted in narrower waterways flowing through the park. The return of the forests also led to the return of our famous beaver, which, by building dams, encouraged the return of a whole new range of wildlife, but also changed the course of the rivers, making them less turbulent and creating more ponds and rapids. And all this in just 20 years. Nature is a balance, and Yellowstone is perhaps the most fabulous example of this.

However, some scientists attach little importance to this concept. According to them, it has no biological basis and is, at best, a way of communicating a concept on paper. Because if we move away from the traditional scale, we may find apex predators that break most conventions. Take the Dragonfly, for example, which is considered an Apex Predator among insects. Its territory may seem tiny compared to that of a lion. Conversely, a lioness’s litter of two to three cubs is insignificant compared to the 1,500 eggs that a dragonfly can lay! In another example, in 2006, researchers pitted two fish against each other in a Canadian lake: a Lake Trout and a Smallmouth Bass that had been introduced for a small experiment. It turned out that the Bass supplanted the Trout, which lost its place as the Apex Predator and had to adapt its diet accordingly until the Bass was removed from the lake.

THE CONGREGATION OF FEARLESS

Let’s get back to Monster Hunter. Because even if the definition remains vague and imprecise (and we’ll come back to that), a good majority of the Apex Predators in the series seem to tick many of the boxes we’ve mentioned. They regulate prey and Mesopredators in different locations, they have an extremely large home range (usually an entire area), and in some cases, they are even responsible for transforming their environment. We can even imagine that the notion of self-regulation fits into the definition with the appearance of the “Arch-Tempered” monsters in the most recent episodes of the series, representing the toughest individuals. But there is a problem.

Like the story of our Trout and Bass, other monsters occasionally usurp the place of the region’s endemic predators. The Deviljho and Arkveld, for example, are voracious and merciless monsters that terrorize the world whenever they appear, capable of defeating extremely imposing monsters, including the apex predators of their respective regions. They are few in number, have a vital domain that can be immense (these monsters are generally found on several maps), and are imposing enough to raise the question of their role as ecological engineers. The same reasoning could be applied to an even more extraordinary category of animals: the Elder Dragons. These mythical creatures are capable of inducing major changes in the ecosystem, but their predatory nature should not be taken lightly, as areas are emptied of monsters when they are spotted there. However, there are exceptions.The Kirin, for example, an Elder Dragon that manipulates lightning, does not have the morphology of a predator and is even preyed upon by a monster that is not itself an Elder Dragon, the Rajang, which draws its power from the rope of the horse streaking across the sky.

All of this highlights the main purpose of “Apex Predators” in the series. It is primarily a tool for developers. A tool that allows them to first create and stabilize their universe, then justify a necessary rise in power through the gameplay loop and the title’s storyline. Even if it is not always named in the series, the “Apex Predator” is clearly identified in each episode, whether through its appearance on the cover or the various discussions and encounters that take place within the game. The player knows what their target is. The developers sometimes had fun with this by confronting the player with their target very early on, to make them uncomfortable and challenge them. And even though the Monster Hunter saga is known and recognized for its more or less complex ecological system, the line between reality and the game is far from blurred.