Only if you consider nature to be cruel. I suspect it helped them survive, by giving them access to food. They certainly seemed to think we were it, even in our Mims. [She talks and climbs, the two interconnected thanks to her essence, and as she reaches the top she grabs onto a convenient outcropping and hauls herself up. Settled, she turns and sticks a hand down. He can take it with his paw, right?]