The Ocampa make no sense from a biological standpoint

[The Overlord]

The Ocampa make no sense from a biological standpoint. The way they reproduce makes no sense and makes the Ocampa seem like evolutionary dead end. I am wondering how the species can survive at all. This video explains the problems better then I can.

http://sfdebris.com/videos/startrek/v818.asp

 

[Guy Gardener]

1. this could be part of the unforgivable sin committed by the Nacane a thousand years earlier.

2. twins, triplets maybe quadruplets could be normal rather than uncommon.

3. If ninety percent or greater of the population is female, they wouldn't need that many twins to maintain a population growth.

4. This could be a humane method of euthanasia by the Nacene, so that this civilization wouldn't prevail foolishly past the lifespan of their Caretaker.

 

[R. Star]

1. this could be part of the unforgivable sin committed by the Nacane a thousand years earlier.

2. twins, triplets maybe quadruplets could be normal rather than uncommon.

3. If ninety percent or greater of the population is female, they wouldn't need that many twins to maintain a population growth.

4. This could be a humane method of euthanasia by the Nacene, so that this civilization wouldn't prevail foolishly past the lifespan of their Caretaker.

1. Speculation but an interesting one. Though maybe this was a side effect of unsafe sex? Those blisters Harry had and those Ocampa mating hand things do look similar.

2. Well the two examples we have in the vision of Kes's future both show examples of single births. Actually there are three in that one as Kes was clearly a solo child too. Seriously though, that standing birth thing is freaky, what if no one is back there to catch the child... maybe that's why they only live Seven years?

3. The two examples we have of this in Cold Fire and Caretaker show a fairly even ratio. Be it background Ocampa or speaking roles. Not to mention Kes mentions to Neelix that Ocampa mate for life and never leave their partners. Heck it took an alien influence with her to dump that loser boyfriend. So if there as an imporportionate ratio, they'd just die off even more quickly.


4. Cover his sins and get out of this Caretaker gig by slowly killing them off? Well that's no less immoral than kidnapping people, raping them and impregnating them... which usually kills them. So why not?

 

[Guy Gardener]

1. Harry got those blisters from frakking Caretaker. If Caretaker and the Ocampa were compatible, then he wouldn't have to search the universe fro a lay.

2. Andrew and Linnis were hybrids. Meanwhile maybe kes was traumatized by not being part of a litter is why she didn't feel or create connections with the community that kes felt compelled to climb to the surface and ask the kazon for a hand out?

3. Polygamists mate for life in theory. Just because they're randomly adding further wives to their family, it doesn't mean that his life long obligations to his other wives are not still being met equally.

4. He was senile and insane when we met him. Was Banjoman still a bastard 300 years earlier when he was still fit in the head? besides any long term plans would have been set up by the captain of the Nacene expedition. Caretaker I suspect was the expendable harry kim or lower on the totem, maybe the Nacene equivalent of Lon Suder, some idjit they could do without when the rest of the crew buggered off. He was maintaining a plan put into action by smarter and better people than he and who knows what adjustments to the original program set forth that he had made over the course of a thousand years. At some point he did something so reprehensible or annoying that Susperia ditched him.