With Prey (2022) gaining plenty of love thanks to its awe-inspiring Feral Predator, many audiences are once again asking many questions, such as what Yautja society is like and why the Feral Predator's technology is not as advanced as his Jungle Hunter brethren.
It's fun to find out the answers throughout the Predator franchise. The Yautja's lore has been expanded in movies, comics, books, and even video games. It's a testament to their design and visual storytelling that a silent alien race remains memorable 35 years since their debut.
Special Blood
The weirdest aspect of Yautja physiology is their fluorescent green blood. While fans of the movie Alien may shudder at the implications of green blood, Yautja blood is far from acidic. In fact, it does the exact opposite. Yautja blood is tailored toward neutralizing the acid of Xenomorphs.
This is why they are able to hunt Xenomorphs and not immediately die from an acid attack. The acid breaks skin but not their muscles, giving them ample time to strike back. In addition, humans who consume properly prepared Yautja blood are granted enhanced healing.
Not All are Honorable
The Yautja are mostly known for their code of honor. Although they have no scruples about killing "innocents", they will never fight the weak or unarmed. This is not out of kindness but in honor. There is no victory for Yautja in killing an "unworthy" foe.
However, not every Yautja thinks the same. Much like humans, there are factions and politics at play even in their highly centralized society. Yautja, known as "Bad-Bloods", kill simply for killing's sake.
They Have a Berserker Mode
The Yautja are usually stealthy and tactical, only striking when the time is right. However, within their physiology lies a special gland that gives them a huge boost in adrenaline. It makes them hit harder, run faster, and take on way more damage, almost like a Predator video game buff.
However, this comes at the cost of their sanity. Berserker Yautja bears no distinction from friend or foe. Over the years, this caused several Yautja civil wars, nearly driving them to extinction. Nowadays, they use artificial inhibitors to control their rage.
Female Yautja Are Just As Ruthless
Although not yet seen in the movies, female Yautja are just as dangerous as the males. Although it's usually males who are out hunting, the females are still just as physically imposing. As the mothers of hunters, they are expected to train and lead clans just as well as males do.
It's likely the reason for the lack of female hunters is the importance of continuing their bloodline. All of them know the importance of maintaining their clan's honor. Still, blooded female Yautja do exist, and they often breed strong warriors
Technology is Earned, Not Given
As Alec Gillis states in The Creature Effects of ADI, "The Predator society builds sophisticated spaceships, yet they should not look as sleek and hi-tech as a Star Wars stormtrooper. They are a tribal culture, yet their look should not be as primitive as the orcs from Lord of the Rings. They are also a warrior culture, so the ornate cannot conflict with the practical."
Yautja technology is a perfect blend of these great fantasy and sci-fi movie philosophies. They have enough to remain superior but like the challenge of a fight. This is why unblooded Yautja are not given all the tools that the Jungle Hunter had in the first Predator movie. They need to earn the right to get better technology.
Predators Live for Centuries
Predators are incredibly long-lived. For them, physical maturity is reached by the age of 50 to 60 years old. However, this doesn't mean they are treated as adults. The unblooded are rowdy, careless, and eager to earn their marks. This means they are required by Yautja law to be supervised by a Blooded hunter, be it in forests, jungles or cities.
The caste system of Yautja pays high respect to their elders. An old warrior means they have fought longer and harder than any other Yautja. Their leaders are all thousands of years old. Some are even old enough to recall the primitive origins of human beings.
They Have Hunted Engineers
With their long lives, the Yautja have seen many other races come and go. In fact, they're so ancient that they've even hunted Engineers. The ancient race was the original progenitors of mankind. They were massive, strong, and intelligent beings, and yet Predators have trophies of them in their hoards.
This also explains their connection to the Xenomorphs a bit more. Seeing as how the first Xenomorphs were likely born from Engineers, it's likely the Predators had a convergent evolution with them. It would also explain how they know so much about Xenomorph physiology.
Worthy Humans Can Join Them
While Aliens vs Predators dabbled in that concept with Lt. Michael Harrigan and Lex Woods, the expanded universe goes even further. In there, it is revealed that even humans can garner enough respect to join a Yautja's hunter clan. This is exactly what happened to Machiko Noguchi.
She was the sole human survivor of a conflict between Yautja and Xenomorphs on her planet. During the fight, she was blooded by the Yautja hunter Dachande. This mark allowed her to join the Yautja clan, as she no longer felt at home with her broken people.
They Were Originally More Insectoid
This one is less about the lore and more about the behind-the-scenes of the race's creation. Originally, the Predator was supposed to be agile and lithe, and far closer to human height. In fact, according to The Hollywood Reporter, it was originally going to be played by Jean Claude Van Damme. However, those plans fell through.
The insectoid designs were instead replaced with the design fans know and love today. However, the insectoid designs were eventually used as the appearance for the race that enslaved the Yautja, the Amengi.
They Were Once An Enslaved Race
The Amengi are an ancient race of insectoid beings who dominated the ancestor of the Yautja species. Back then, the Yautja were known as the Hish. For centuries, they were beaten down by their overlords. However, time made the Amengi careless and weak. Soon, an uprising turned the tables on them.
The Hish eventually became the Yautja. Any Amengi that weren't purged were subjected to the same slavery and torture that they inflicted on the Hish for centuries. It's a fascinating origin for a race that many would believe were always apex predators.