Predators Don't Regulate Prey

When pressed on the question of why the world must have such a predatory food chain of life feeding upon life, both theists and atheists alike, tend to claim that the reason is because predators serve the function of regulating the numbers of their prey, preventing them from becoming over-populated, and this is their purpose. This belief that predators regulate prey is nearly ubiquitous and unquestioned by both ecologists and lay people. If an animal has become a pest or is found proliferating in a new environment, the immediate assumed response is that this is because its natural enemies…