Could a predatory semi-sentient species survive, in the long run, without the emotion of fear?
I was thinking of an idea for an alien species in a hard sci-fi universe, and I wondered if a species, with the same amount of emotions as bottlenose dolphins (Except for fear), survive as a species.
In sentient/semi-sentient species, is fear to important an emotion? The main reason for me asking this is that I'd like to know if a truly fearless species is plausible, that could enter the most hopelessly dangerous situations without hesitance?
The species is predatory, and lives on a planet with many giant animals which it preys on. The "ground" is in fact a spongy bed of fungus, so instead of feet, it has blade-like "knives" on the end of its four limbs that sink into the sponge. It also uses the forelimbs of these to kill its prey, like a praying mantis.
The females hunt alone, but the males hunt in packs (Females are bigger and more suited to solo hunting.) The female will lay one or two eggs, but carries them in a pouch in her body. After about 8 months, the baby breaks out of the egg with its "knives" and crawls out of the pouch. After 16 years, it leaves its mother, going it alone if it's a female or joining a pack if it's male.
Just to summarize, If a predatory animal that had all human emotions (to some degree) except fear evolved, would the species be able to survive and retain that characteristic?
This post was sourced from https://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/q/111134. It is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
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