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Predator Biology and Culture
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This article details the Biology and the Culture of the Predator species of the Predator series of films, the Predator novel series and Alien vs. Predator series Characteristics While yautja are humanoid, many features of their anatomy differ markedly from that of humans. Notably, they have four mandibles surrounding their mouths. These mandibles appear to be the source of audible clicks and chirps used in communicating, although yautja can also understand and mimic human speech reasonably well. It has also been suggested in the films that their mask provides translation capabilities. Yautja have rubbery tube-like "hair" strands which appear as thick long "dreadlocks" surrounding their heads. There is mention in literature that these are ritually bound in an extremely painful process done over a month's time. This is done as a rite of passage, and if the young yautja indicates any sign of pain, it must be restarted. However, in the film Alien vs. Predator: Requiem, the xenomorph-yautja hybrid named grows these "dreadlocks" after the chestburster erupts from the corpse of a yautja hinting that the "dreadlocks" are grown rather than ritually bound as previously stated. The first Alien versus Predator novel establishes that though initially reptilian in appearance, the species is actually mammalian, possessing external mammalian genitalia and mammary glands for suckling young. The males give off strong musk when in breeding season or agitated into hunting mode. They are also able to father offspring over the entire course of their adult lives. The females are atrracted by this musk and the love begins. Female are known to sometime kill the male for unexplainable reasons. Some older specimens also exhibit spike-like facial hair. It is unknown if they can shave these hair or whether the facial hair is just a matter of genetic expression, present in some individuals and absent in others. In addition to their alien exterior, yautja also have notably luminescent green blood. The blood of a yautja is able to neutralize the acid from a xenomorph's blood, as revealed in the novel Alien versus Predator. Male yautja are estimated to be 6.5 to 7.6 feet tall (1.96m to 2.32m) and weigh approximately 300-400 pounds (136.08-181.44 kg). It is unknown how large the females are, although in the first Alien vs. Predator novel it was estimated they are possibly much larger and stronger than the males, though this is not the original idea of the creatures creator, whom originally insisted female yautja be smaller in size, but none the less formidable. Physically, the yautja are remarkably resilient. Physical trauma that would otherwise maim or kill a human being is typically little more than a nuisance or a temporary incapacity for a yautja. Lesser injuries may have no noticeable effect at all. Yautja have demonstrated that they can continue to engage opponents even after suffering the most grievous of injuries, such as chest impalement or limb amputation (though these wounds may ultimately prove fatal). They are highly resistant to small caliber arms fire and stabbing weapons, as revealed in Predator 2 when the yautja survived several shotgun shots), although such attacks do physically injure them. The species is also adaptable to extremes of heat and cold as illustrated in Predator 2 when a warrior was repelled but not noticeably harmed by weaponized liquid nitrogen, as revealed in the fourth Predator novel, Predator: Cold War. This is also evident in the Alien vs. Predator film where three yautja land on an island near Antarctica and seem unaffected by the intense cold to the point where they don't even shiver; the novelization specifies that their net-like shift-suits have heating capabilities. In addition to their natural defenses, yautja carry with them advanced medical technology that greatly aids them in combat. In the film Predator 2, a wounded yautja warrior applied a paste-like substance from its med-kit to the stump of its severed arm. The substance appeared to cauterize the wound and solidify into a bandage. However, the yautjas' methods of treating their wounds often cause them more pain than the injuries themselves, as seen in both Predator films (as well as Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem) (it is one of the few instances in which the yautja seem to express pain at all), although they are willing to endure the pain. The Yautja possess great physical strength in comparison to humans; they rip out the skulls of their prey, are able to lift tree trunks, smash small tree branches into pieces, break down walls, and throw a large-sized human 15-20 meters with enough force to incapacitate or kill. They are remarkably agile and athletic for creatures their size, often jumping vast distances and surviving drops from significant heights. A yautja is also surprisingly fast. In Predator 2, the yautja warrior ran from a cemetery to a subway in mere minutes, and was able to overtake a speeding subway train. They also seem to possess great stamina, as they are able to cover great distances and perform continuously without the need for rest. The yautja have developed natural infrared vision which has both advantages and disadvantages, foremost among them being a profound inability to distinguish between objects of equal temperature, such as walls, furniture and other non-living things. To counteract these deficiencies the yautja have developed masks fitted with complicated cybernetic optics, that enhance their natural infrared vision. The mask also has many different visual frequency options, as seen in Predator 2, where the creature switches between a great variety of different optical systems. These different visual modes include sensors tuned to radioactive sources and an x-ray function that can distinguish between the specific layers of an object. In the film Alien vs. Predator, the yautja use an EM sensor specially tuned for tracking xenomorphs, which can't be tracked using standard infrared detectors (as established in the movie Aliens). The mask's optics also allow the creature to zoom in and out at will. In the film Predator 2, the creature uses a breathing apparatus after Detective Michael Harrigan removes the yautja's mask (most likely as a result of having sustained injuries from Harrigan's shotgun and/or the smog in Los Angeles). Yautja seem able to breathe earth-standard air for limited periods of time but need their masks (or other breathing aids) to provide them with their own native blend of gases after extended exposure. One of the most pronounced differences between humans and yautja is their longevity. Yautja often live as long as 1000 years. It is unknown what mental effect (if any) such advanced age has on a Predator. The novel Predator: Forever Midnight has a dramatically different interpretation of the Predator, called the Hish. In the novel they have a "kill gland" located between their neck and collarbone which secretes powerful hormones into their blood stream and which drives them to hyper-aggression. When this gland is over-stimulated, it sends the creature into a frenzied rage. When in such a state, the Hish will attempt to kill any living thing in sight, including members of its own species. This "kill rage" can be contagious and spread from one Hish to another, driving them all to attack each other. The Hish as a species barely survived their kill glands - entire clans were wiped out when the elders nuked each other while in the throes of rage - and they have learned to control the gland's secretions with artificial hormone regulators. It is also said in the first novel that the gravity on their homeworld is much greater and that it attributes to their great size and strength. Hunting methods The hunting style of individual yautja varies depending on the specific script requirements of the narrative, however, a typical yautja hunt usually begins in the following fashion: A yautja spacecraft, enters the atmosphere of a planet from outer-space, and stays in orbit around the planet after shooting out a landing pod in which a Predator travels to the surface of the planet. The landing pod opens wings slowing entry speed, finally landing vertically planted in the ground. Sometimes a Yautja spacecraft will covertly land on a planet, but usually the landing of the actual spacecraft is the result of a crash landing. The creatures usually target areas of extreme strife and hostility, such as an ongoing guerrilla war (Predator) or a crime-ridden urban ghetto (Predator 2). A lone yautja, while cloaked, will then conduct reconnaissance and analyze the area for worthy targets and potential prey. A yautja will usually hunt alone, without the assistance of any of its kind. An exception to this solitary behavior occurred in the novel Predator: Forever Midnight, where a senior yautja clan-member led a hunting expedition numbering over three-dozen (including a half-dozen juvenile yautja "spawnlings") to a jungle planet which had been recently colonized by humans. Another exception was seen in Alien vs. Predator when a trio of yautja landed in Antarctica for their coming-of-age hunt. However, although they arrived as a group, they avoided common team/pack-hunting tactics and focused more on individual strategy. However, when many participate in the hunt there is always a large number of yautja nearby, usually in their orbiting space ship as seen in Alien vs. Predator and A.V.P.R. One other example was in Predator 2, when Detective Harrigan tracks a yautja to his ship, hidden underground beneath the foundation of an apartment complex. Once a yautja decides on prey worthy of the hunt, the creature will stalk it relentlessly, studying the victim. It also seems that it likes to taunt the prey, until either the prey or itself is dead. The yautja waits for the optimum moment to strike swiftly and efficiently and uses roughly-analogous guerilla tactics. The yautja prefers to attack from a distance using stand-off weapons and striking at lone targets whenever possible. This does not mean, however, that the creature will never attack an enemy in numbers. The yautja will also attack with melee weapons if the situation warrants. After the kill, the yautja will drag its defeated opponent's corpse away into hiding, if possible, so that the head can be severed at the creature's leisure and cleaned as a trophy. If the opponent's body cannot be acquired safely (Predator), the creature will retreat into hiding and wait for another opportunity to take the corpse. If the yautja deems the kill unrewarding or unremarkable, it will string the victims up by the feet, bleed them out, skin the body and remove the internal organs. Although in Alien vs. Predator, the bodies were not skinned, simply strung up, most likely because the yautja were participating in a manhood ritual, not a game hunt. Also, in the video game Aliens versus Predator: Extinction, some bodies were headless and hung by the feet but not skinned. Having completed this ritual, the yautja will proceed to its next target until the hunt is over. Also, it's revealed that they will kill anything that interferes with the hunt, such as wild animals; the same rules which apply to human game hunters. Since the hunting ground is sacred to them, they will go through any means to protect it. When fighting a xenomorph, a yautja will usually refrain from cutting or rupturing the creature's head, but not always. A xenomorph head can be seen in the yautja spacecraft in Predator 2. Sportsmanship In film, the yautja culture is based almost exclusively on the hunt. In the novel Predator: Forever Midnight, the species values "the joy of hunting" above all else. All other considerations are secondary. That same novel as well as the film Predator 2 indicates that the Predators have hunted humans since at least the 18th century, as well as xenomorphs and other unknown species. Alien vs. Predator explained that Earth had been set up as a type of training ground by a sect of yautja, that these hunted xenomorphs, not humans, and that they were responsible for the technological advancements that created the Egyptian and Aztec pyramids as well as the ancient Cambodian temples. The viewer learns that these yautja have been visiting Earth for millenia, where they were worshiped as gods. At one-hundred-year intervals, they would visit Earth to take part in a rite of passage in which several humans would sacrifice themselves as hosts for the xenomorphs, creating the "ultimate prey" for the yautja to hunt. It should be noted, however, that this was a claim made by a human interpreting ancient hieroglyphs. If overwhelmed, the yautja would activate their self-destruct weapons to eliminate the xenomorphs along with themselves. In this rite, a young yautja would earn a mark of honor, a hieroglyph burned into the yautja's face with xenomorph blood, once it had killed one of the xenomorphs. The book series which predated the film contradicts this "ultimate prey" idea by portraying the xenomorphs as easy prey for the yautja, used more for leisurely hunts, while humans are the ultimate prey due to their ability to plan and improvise (in the Alien vs Predator novels, humans are considered the ultimate pyode amedha: soft meat, while xenomorphs are the ultimate kainde amedha: hard meat). This discrepancy may be explainable through differences in preference and ability between individuals and clans, where it could be theorized that some Yautjas simply find one species more difficult than the other. While the first AVP film suggests a much higher degree of difficulty in defeating single xenomorph opponents, the second film and the literature depicts a much more one sided fight under normal circumstances. In contrast, only a few select humans put up any reasonable fight at all in the films, and generally in the literature, though it is worth noting that in the first AVP film the yautja were participating in a rite of passage ceremony and were only teenagers, while in the second AVP film the yautja was shown as a veteran warrior. The ancient, veteran leader can be seen in the middle.In Predator and Predator 2 the yautja are portrayed not with an honor system per se, but instead a sense of sportsmanship and a respect for the "rules of the hunt". Yautja seem primarily interested in aggressive game, and will often completely ignore and spare the weak and helpless. In Predator 2, one yautja aims his plasma cannon at the head of a child that has a toy Uzi, but relents when a scan identifies the gun as a toy. When the yautja found itself witness to a confrontation between armed civilians, gang members and police officers, the yautja attacked all three sides without distinction due to the presence of weapons, yet left all other civilians alone. Later, the same yautja scans a disarmed female prey, and upon discovering a fetus within her, spares her life. The sense of sportsmanship can sometimes extend to when the prey beats the yautja, as demonstrated when Detective Harrigan finally kills his yautja opponent on board the yautja's spacecraft. A group of yautja confronts Harrigan. However, rather than attacking him (in which Harrigan would have quickly been killed), the most senior of them tosses Harrigan an old flint-lock pistol as a trophy for Harrigan's victory. Such recognitions are rare, however, due to the largely solitary nature of a yautja's hunt and their preferred use of a self-destruct device when facing defeat (which Harrigan's opponent did attempt to use, only to have the self-destruct device destroyed before it could explode, by Harrigan himself). The novels generally support the idea that the more senior yautja place a greater value on sportsmanship, rules and challenge of prey, while younger hunters are only interested in amassing kills and trophies. This theory is also supported in the video games. In Alien vs. Predator, a yautja neutralizes and is about to kill an elderly character (Weyland), then detects terminal lung cancer within the man and ignores him. It is only when the man attacks the departing yautja with a makeshift flamethrower (a portable oxygen tank and a flare) that the yautja actually kills him. This suggests that yautja will only kill a seemingly weak target if they threat or otherwise show worth as prey. Also at the end of Alien vs. Predator, when Alexa meets the yautja that ritually scarred itself on the forehead, it was about to kill her when it itself is attacked by a xenomorph. Alexa kills the alien with the yautja's spear, and the yautja uses the xenomorph acid to mark her face with a glyph as proof of her kill. When the yautja de-cloak to collect the fallen yautja after the Queen xenomorph kills him, the clan leader sees the mark on Alexa's face and gives her his spear, acknowledging her, at the very least, as a fellow warrior. Trading trophies to fellow warriors may be common in yautja society for skilled warriors. Yautja generally do not attack unarmed humans (likely since a human without a weapon cannot so much as inflict a minor injury on a yautja) unless they were already hunting a human that happened to lose his or her weapon. In the event that this happens, as at the end of both Predator films, the yautja will remove most of its own weaponry, in order to match their opponent. They also appear to believe in honorable suicide, similar to the samurai ritual of seppuku, preferring to die rather than being slain or captured. The video game Predator: Concrete Jungle states that one of the yautja's highest laws is to be anonymous to their prey species, and breaking such a law can lead to a 100-year banishment to a far-off planet, which, if they have managed to survive to the end, they will be given a chance to redeem themselves afterwards. Aliens versus Predator: Extinction also shows that those yautja who fail to commit suicide after dishonoring themselves are hunted and killed by their comrades. They will also use their wrist-mounted bomb if they find themselves in a situation where their technology will be captured by another species. Also in the Batman versus Predator series of comic books a yautja was seen about to commit suicide, rather than be killed by its adversary. Batman seemingly outwitted his yautja enemy although this was using more brains than brawn. The yautja in question was handed a sword with which to commit the act by an elder yautja, more wise in the ways of the hunt. Whether this is canon or not is debatable however, as these comics lie outside of normal comic continuity for both lines. Homeworld There is almost no information about the yautja homeworld in the films. An issue of one of the various Alien vs. Predator comic book series made reference to the "Tribeworlds", suggesting that the species originates from an entire star system instead of a single planet. A possible clue about the nature of the yautja homeworld provided by both the Predator films is that the creatures are attracted to hot, humid climates; the heat may also help with the yautja's visual equipment. This quality is remarked upon by Anna in the first film, and later reinforced by Peter Keyes in the sequel. This suggests a homeworld whose climate is much warmer than that of the Earth. It's possible that the homeworld of the yautja is a forest world,similar to our rain forests due to extreme aptitude they display in Predator and Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem. On the other hand, in the video game Aliens versus Predator: Extinction, it is revealed that yautja have (somewhat) fire-resistant skin because they live on an arid death world. This resistance to fire is reinforced in the film Alien vs. Predator, when a yautja is attacked with a makeshift flamethrower. It turns away unhurt, but with smoke/steam streaming off its body and head. This made the creature angry enough to kill the human that attacked it, even though it had already left him alone due to his terminal illness. It is also possible they live on a much colder world, where their infrared vision would be much more effective, and because they were so easily able to withstand the bitter cold of Antarctica in Alien vs. Predator, temperatures that would have easily killed a person. Hunting yautja may choose extremely hot climates for the challenge they provide by reducing the effectiveness of their IR vision and sensors. Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem features a sequence which shows the protagonist, a yautja dubbed "Wolf", leaving the yautja homeworld for earth to deal with an infestation of xenomorphs. The planet contains huge, sleak industrial like buildings and appears to be encircled by an asteroid belt and orbit a binary star system. Also with the theory and story which was portrayed in Alien vs. Predator about their history of helping Earth civilizations build pyramids and monuments is depicted in the background of the homeworld of the second film which shows a pyramid resembling those of Egypt being constructed, which suggests that the yautja race still uses such architecture methods as either common uses or for ceremonial practices. Morals and Beliefs Although they are portrayed as a race of warriors, the yautja do not appear to be warlike, instead believing that the creatures/races they hunt should be able to choose their own fate for themselves as a species. See Also
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