Flight Distance Any observant people have noticed that a wild animal will allow a man or other potential enemy to approach only up to a given distance before it escapes. "Flight distance" is the terms used for this interspecies spacing. As a general rule, there is a positive relationship between the size of an animal and its flight distance --- the larger the animal, the greater the distance it must keep between itself and the enemy. An antelope will escape when the enemy is as much as five hundred yards away. The wall lizard's flight distance, on the other hand, is about six feet. Flight is the basic means of survival for mobile creatures. Critical Distance Critical distance apparently is present wherever and whenever there is a flight reaction. "Critical distance" includes the narrow zone separating flight distance from attack distance. A lion in a zoo will flee from an approaching man until it meets a barrier that it cannot overcome. If the man continues the approach, he soon penetrates(,)the lion's critical distance, at which point the cornered lion turns back and begins slowly stalk the man. Social Distance Social animals need to stay in touch with each other. Loss of contact with the group can be fatal  for a variety of reasons including exposure to enemies. Social distance is not simply the distance at which an animal will lose contact with his group --- that is, the distance at which it can no longer see, hear, or smell the group --- it is rather a psychological distance, one at which the animal apparently begins to feel anxious when it goes beyond its limits. We can think of it as a hidden band that contains the group. Social distance varies from species to species. It is quite short --- apparently only a few yards --- among some animals, and quite long among others. Social distance is not always rigidly fixed but is determined in part by the situation. When the young of apes and humans are mobile but not yet under control of the mother's voice, social distance may be the length of her reach. This is readily observed among baboons in a zoo. When the baby approaches a certain point, the mother reaches out to seize the end of its tail and pull it back to her. When added control is needed because of danger, social distance shortens. To show this in man, one has only to watch a family with a number of small children holding hands as they cross a busy street. If a lion's critical distance is penetrated, it will   _
begin to attack try to hide begin to jump run away