User blog comment:Lord Loss/Monster Hunter Theory... Blog/@comment-4563270-20130205164110/@comment-4212769-20130207122933

(And no one reacted to my subspecies theory...)

I will say it again:

Good conditions are relative. What first seems like good conditions could be bad for animals/monster adapted to different environments.

The Great Forest is also something that bugs me. How can there live so many different monsters being in the exactly same ecological niche on so little room. My theory is that they live either only for short periods here, or they all just recently arrived there now fighting for their place. The 'preys seem to be kinda random spreaded while the Greats had their specific habitat(s) what makes more sense.

Pike said already that Capcom stated that the Rathalos/Rathian "subspecies" are just mutation of color. That means in the end they are just the same subspecies, and there is no problem in co-existing. Another scenario is the Yian Kut-Ku and the Blue Yian Kut-Ku. They are both in a different ecological niche, as Yian Kut-Ku eats worms, insects and so on, but Blue Yian Kut-Ku can be seen scavenging what means it also eats meat. All the other monsters that have subspecies that live together in one area have either different diets (Uragaan - Uragaan Subspecies) or can be a mutation, gene defect, gender-specific or a mating season form. We don't/can't know unless Capcom decides to make a statement on that. But Qurupeco and Crimson Qurupeco are clearly both subspecies and have the same ecological niche as they eat/hunt the same. They would compete for food and one is better adapted.

Back to the 'preys/'dromes: They seem by far not that well adapted as the Greats. They are very similar to each other. So it's pretty much an even competition where none of them are really adapted to their environment giving none of them a real advantage, being forced to live with/tolerate the other. (solved my own problem, lol) That's a very different situation as with the Greats. Great Jaggi was the only one there, adapted well to the environment and suddenly other relatives appear. I don't think Great Jaggi couldn't be able to fend them off before Great Wroggi and Great Baggi could settle at all.

While the "They live for a period of time there" theory does of course make more sense than living there the whole time, I don't see why they would take the arduous journey to the Deserted Island. Uragaan has enough vegetation at the Volcano, if it wants to eat plants. The Deserted Island doesn't give him anything better than the Volcano. The Tundra is surely not nearby so I don't think Great Baggi would just come over for holidays there.

For Diablos... it's much too rocky for it too burrow through the ground. It needs sand or loose ground what the Deserted Island has hardly to give. Also Diablos is totally adapted to very dry locations. For me the most logical thing would be that it's a Diablos Subspecies there, but why don't we see this subspecies more often in the Deserted Island? It just doesn't make sense.