At first, this was going to be a predator/prey project dealing with weasels and foxes. But, the interests of the creator led her to change the project into an indepth analysis of the feeding patterns of weasels and mongooses. The weasels are from much more independent stock, they tend to be entirely random in their directions and jumps to find food. However, the mongooses, who have been said to represent the 18th century European aristocracy, are more refined. They turn solely to the right, and move in a steady, though intense, pace. The mongooses also tend to strip the land of all its wealth, while the weasels are more egalitarian in where they choose to eat.
This is an easy program to run, since all of the procedures have been grouped into buttons. First, use the sliders to choose the number of weasels and mongooses you would prefer. Then, hit the setup button on the left side of the screen. This will create purple weasels, spread them out, and create green food for them to eat. The amount of food created is proportional to the number of weasels you start with. Then, if the "eat food" button is pushed, the weasels will begin to eat. To see the orange mongooses, press the "add mongooses" button. To make the mongooses begin to eat, press the "mongoose feeding frenzy" button. Now, you have weasels and mongooses both trying to eat the same diminishing food supply. After each creature eats a patch of food, it gives birth to one offspring exactly like it. While weasels and mongooses technically do not reproduce asexually, this is a convenient simplification to make.
Here are some pictures of what the animation looks like in progress:
In the beginning, the weasels disperse and food is randomly placed on the bored.
Then, the mongooses are released, and all the animals begin to eat,
Finally, all the animals have eaten so much that they have maxed out the food supply and they die.
by Lauren Fath