Folklore Themes: Being Hunted

The river women get a significant amount of their protein from hunting. Although in reality women themselves are rarely in danger from predators, many legends feature characters being stalked as prey. Such stories are told to teach empathy. Girls learning to hunt are expected to understand what it means to feel hunted.

From Finding Old Ancestor:
We walked in the empty stream, where there was no hiding place. At times we heard sounds, as if something moved in the hills. When we had stronghorns we were wary always of other animals wanting to eat them. This place had different animals, but still hungry ones, and these were here wanting to eat us.