While numerous studies have examined either initial prey responses to an approaching predator (flight initiation distance, FID), or subsequent hiding behavior (e.g. latency to resume activity), to our knowledge, no previous studies have repeatedly tested multiple individuals in nature, to quantify whether both FIDs and latencies to resume activity are repeatable, and whether these two stages of the antipredator response are positively correlated. This correlation is ecologically important in that opportunity costs of predator avoidance are particularly large if the same individuals tend to both escape more readily and hide longer. Here, we examined California ground squirrels’ (Otospermophilus beecheyi) responses to human approach, and provided the first example showing that, as predicted: FIDs, latencies to resume activity, and other aspects of prey responses post-FID were repeatable and positively correlated. Interestingly, we also found that across a gradient of human activity, squirrels in areas with higher human activity were generally bolder.

Rampant structural inequality exists across human societies, exerting a powerful influence on the health of individuals around the globe. Differential access to -- and variation in -- material wealth contributes greatly to this imbalance. Intergenerational transfer of material wealth can advantage some individuals over less fortunate individuals, shaping divergent destinies and creating a hierarchy of privilege. This concept is familiar within the context of human economic and social systems, but we argue that privilege is not a uniquely human phenomenon. Rather, privilege has evolved multiple times and its phylogenetic reach may be startlingly widespread across the Tree of Life, raising the provocative possibility that comparative study of privilege may offer insights leading to effective strategies countering inequality in human societies.