hunting (redirected from Hunters)

hunting, act of seeking, following, and killing wild animals for consumption or display. It differs from fishing in that it involves only land animals. Hunting was a necessary activity of early humans. Through the Paleolithic period it was their chief means of obtaining food and clothing. In the Neolithic period, when agriculture developed, killing game was still important. Hunting was popular among the ancients and became a sport in medieval Europe, where it was reserved, as far as possible, for the privileged classes by game laws. Falconry and foxhunting became increasingly popular in England in the Middle Ages, and the use of hunting dogs—hounds, setters, pointers, spaniels, and the like—became widespread in this period. Hunting can be divided into three branches, each of which is defined by the type of instrument used by the hunter. Hunting with weapons (now primarily firearms, formerly bow and arrow, boomerang, spear, or sling) is probably the most popular, especially in the United States. Trapping and snaring with deceptive implements is popular in northern areas. In coursing (with dogs) and falconry (with hawks) hunters enlist the aid of trained animals. Coursing is especially popular in Britain and Western Europe. Types of hunting are also distinguished by the size of the animal being sought. Big-game hunting is the most glamorous and often the most dangerous. It became a popular sport among Western colonialists in Africa and India during the 19th cent., and even today the big-game safari survives. Big-game animals include, or have included, the moose, caribou, bear, and elk of North America; the reindeer, elk, and wolf of Europe; the tiger, leopard, elephant, and wild goat of Asia; and the antelope, gazelle, zebra, leopard, lion, giraffe, rhinoceros, and elephant of Africa. Small-game hunting, known as "shooting" in Great Britain, focuses on birds such as the quail, partridge, grouse, pheasant, and goose, as well as on such animals as the hare, rabbit, woodchuck, raccoon, and squirrel. Extensive hunting, both commercial and recreational, has made many species of game animals extinct (the passenger pigeon) or nearly extinct (the American bison). Game laws and wildlife refuges in the United States have been designed to save game animals and birds from extinction. Many African nations have also instituted such measures, but illegal poaching for furs, skins, ivory, internal organs, and the like remains a problem both there and in other areas of the world.

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hunting

Pursuit of game animals, principally as sport. To early humans hunting was a necessity, and it remained so in many societies until recently. The development of agriculture made hunting less necessary as a sole life support, but game was still pursued in order to protect crops, flocks, or herds, as well as for food. Weapons now commonly used in hunting include the rifle, shotgun, and the bow and arrow, and methods include stalking, still-hunting (lying in wait), tracking, driving, and calling. Dogs are sometimes employed to track, flush, or capture prey. In Europe much of the land once hunted upon was owned by the aristocracy, and gamekeepers were employed to regulate the amount of game that could be hunted in a given area. By the 1800s the land hunted upon was not or had never been privately owned, and there began to develop a “tragedy of the commons,” in that no one hunter had any motive to limit the number of animals killed; certain species were hunted to, or very close to, extinction. To counter this development, ethical codes were established that give the quarry a fair chance to escape; attempts were made to minimize the suffering of wounded game; and game laws, licensing, and limited hunting seasons were established to protect game stocks. For instance, a modern license may authorize a hunter to kill only two deer during the brief season for deer, and he or she must present a kill to a game warden who will then document and tag the animal. There are often penalties and fines for being found with an animal that is not so marked.

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hunting [′hənt·iŋ]

(control systems)

Undesirable oscillation of an automatic control system, wherein the controlled variable swings on both sides of the desired value.

(electronics)

Operation of a selector in moving from terminal to terminal until one is found which is idle.

(mechanical engineering)

Irregular engine speed resulting from instability of the governing device.

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Hunting

Agraeus

epithet of Apollo, meaning “hunter.” [Gk. Myth.: Zimmerman, 26]

Agrotera

epithet of Artemis, meaning “huntress.” [Gk. Myth.: Zimmerman, 32]

Artemis

(Rom. Diana) moon goddess; virgin huntress. [Gk. Myth.: Kravitz, 36]

Atalanta

famous huntress; slew the Centaurs. [Gk. Myth.: Leach, 87]

Britomartis

Cretan nymph; goddess of hunters and fishermen. [Gk. Myth.: Zimmerman, 43]

Calydonian boar hunt

famed hunt of Greek legend. [Class. Myth: Metamorphoses]

Green Hills of Africa

portrays big game-hunting coupled with literary digressions. [Am. Lit.: Green Hills of Africa]

Hubert, St.

patron saint; encountered stag with cross in horns. [Christian Hagiog.: Brewster, 473–474]

Jorrocks

irrepressible pseudo-aristocratic cockney huntsman. [Br. Lit.: Jorrock’s Jaunts and Jollies]

NRA

(National Rifle Association of America) organization that encourages sharpshooting and use of firearms for hunting. [Am. Pop. Culture: NCE, 1895]

Nimrod

Biblical hunter of great prowess. [O.T.: Genesis 10:9; Br. Lit.: Paradise Lost]

Orion

hunter who pursued the Pleiades. [Classical Myth.: Zimmerman 184–185]

Sagittarius

the Archer of the Zodiac; used occasionally to symbolize hunting. [Astrology: Payton, 594]

Stymphalian birds

venomous Arcadian flock shot by Hercules; sixth Labor. [Gk. and Rom. Myth.: Hall, 149]

“tally ho”

traditional rallying cry in English fox hunts. [Pop. Cult.: Misc.]