How to catch creatures that can predict the next few minutes?

These creatures have the ability to see all possible outcomes within their vicinity within the next 30 minutes or so.

This is not the same as foreknowledge that they have no choice over. Even if they foreknew that they will die the next day, they could not escape it. If they could escape it, it wouldn't have been actual foreknowledge because it didn't actually happen. This is the difference. The ability is that they know what would happen IF they were to do this, and something else would happen IF they weren't to do it. So, they can't predict it like it's their absolute fate, they just know what happens as a consequence of their actions, whether they choose to do something or nothing. It's much like what Dr. Strange did in Avengers Infinity War with the time stone, but with a much more limited range of time.

This means that they will know if humans are going to hunt them down in the next 30 mins and are going to hide and are capable of not leaving any trace. Of course they won't, because they can predict what happens if they do leave a trace. It's part of their ability. They can still be found by people who don't have any intention of hunting them down. That's because they already predicted it to be safe.

How do you catch creatures like this? Even if people have no intention to catch them and later change their mind will be part of their prediction, so they will choose to hide long before. This is a medieval fantasy setting, by the way, if that helps.

EDIT: To answer the comment below about the limitations of their "vicinity", it's wherever they currently are and will be in the next 30 mins. So if they can travel 1 mile in 30 minutes, the predictions will include what happens 1 mile from where they are now. But they cannot see what happens in the other side of the world, where they can never reach within 30 mins.

I also see suggestions of 30+ minutes of running or 30+ minutes of crossing traps. The problem with those is that they can already see the 30+ minutes of using precious energy and not seeing results of using the energy. These are wild animals that also need to look for food. Investing in that much energy when they don't even know what for or whether they can finish it is not a very good option for them. They would prefer waiting in a safe place. Some animals in the real world stop trying pretty often. These precog creatures have the advantage of not even needing to try.

posted about 5 years ago

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