Great stuff! Thanks for pointing this out, byoffer and spot. Wasn't there a clip this past week of 2 monkeys grooming each other, then they cut to Kent and Carter? I'll have to rewatch but it struck me as funny at the time with their spiked hair. And I would think that Kent and Carter are on the hot seat at the merge, given that Penner's tribe is outnumbered, they're alpha males on that tribe, and Penner has the HII.On the other hand, I suppose you could interpret this animal imagery to mean that a quicker/smarter/opportunist competitor CAN take on a larger foe...which could be good news for Penner's tribe as underdogs...or perhaps it's more interesting if applied at an individual level.
See below for a little more I dug up on the Philippines Eagle from wikipedia -- interesting that the words "predator" and "opportunist" come up. Maybe that's the lesson/symbolism here, that you have to be an opportunist to win at Survivor. So, who will make the most of an opportunity at the merge? Jeff mentions in his teaser that one tribe has an opportunity this week, hmmm.
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"Like most predators, the Philippine Eagle is an opportunist that takes prey based on its local level of abundance and ease.<28> The Philippine Eagle is apex predator in its range.
"Prey specimens found at the eagle's nest have ranged in size from a small bat weighing 10 g (0.35 oz) to a Philippine deer weighing 14 kg (31 lb).<28> The primary prey varies from island to island depending on species availability, particularly in Luzon and Mindanao. This is due to the islands being in different faunal regions. For example, the tree squirrel-sized Philippine flying lemurs, the preferred prey in Mindanao, are absent in Luzon.<7> The primary prey for the eagles seen in Luzon are monkeys, birds, flying foxes, giant cloud-rats Phloeomys pallidus which can weigh twice as much as flying lemurs at, 2 to 2.5 kg (4.4 to 5.5 lb), and reptiles such as large snakes and lizards.["