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An extension to another question about Why would humans be the dominant species?

In my story Giants, humans, and a bunch of other fantasy races live along side each other and i'm curious as to why wouldn't Giants (this also apply's to Yetis) be the dominant race? some basic characteristics of my Giants include:

  • are 10.5ft (3.2 m) tall and weigh 619lbs (280kg)
  • have bloodhound level sense of smell and greatly improved hearing
  • have thick skin approaching 0.5 in (12.7 mm) at its thickest
  • have Human-level intelligence
  • are proportionately weaker than a human (but are still quite strong)
  • have worse endurance
  • are quite stocky
  • have sauropod like feet
  • have a gestation period of two years
  • can't jump
  • are surprisingly good swimmers
  • have a slightly more robust stomach

Note: Magic does not exist in my world

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    $\begingroup$ What do you mean by "dominant?" Control of politics? Control of economy? Best musician? Apex predator? Lease susceptible to famine or pestilence? Best farmer? Or something else? $\endgroup$
    – user535733
    Mar 22, 2020 at 16:35
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    $\begingroup$ So are you saying that the giants are aggressive? And want to dominate their neighbors? If so, then you must either dial back the aggressiveness, or give the giants a weakness that the others use to keep them in check. The giants must also bring some clear benefit to the community, else the others would have driven away (or been driven away by) the aggressive giants. $\endgroup$
    – user535733
    Mar 22, 2020 at 17:16
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    $\begingroup$ Seems like you answered you own question: Giants are not dominant and live in mixed communities because they are not especially aggressive. $\endgroup$
    – user535733
    Mar 22, 2020 at 17:21
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    $\begingroup$ Your giants are very unlikely to dominate humans. They reproduce more slowly than humans (so their population is considerably smaller), they are bad at fine motor skills (due to the rhinoceros hide and the longer distance that the nervous impulse must travel), they are more prone to injuries from falling, they cannot sustain effort for long, they are less agile on rugged terrain... Humans got where we are because we are nimble, flexible, with great endurance, and we have internalized Aesop's fable about the Old Man and His Sons. $\endgroup$
    – AlexP
    Mar 22, 2020 at 17:32
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    $\begingroup$ If they're 5 times as heavy as humans, they likely need 5 times as much food - and the attributes given don't make it plausible that the average giant will be as good at gathering food than five humans spread out, so they would be at a disadvantage, not dominant. $\endgroup$
    – Peteris
    Mar 23, 2020 at 15:02

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You listed the reasons.

  • have Human-level intelligence
  • have a gestation period of two years
  • have worse endurance

They are larger than humans, but have equal intelligence. Larger creatures generally require more food, so your giants are essentially less efficient than humans in terms of planning/watt.

They are worse at reproduction. Not only do they reproduce more slowly, they do it so slowly that one must endure multiple winters while pregnant (note that there's a slight but noticeable skew in birth months for humans -- August is quite popular, which makes sense -- might as well carry that kid around in the more plentiful summer months).

Poor endurance means that they don't get to use our primary hunting gimmick, so they won't have as much food. Less food=fewer troops. Poor endurance=less strategic maneuverability. If they made the mistake of declaring war on humanity, they'd find themselves outnumbered and outflanked.

Why aren't they taking over the world? The better question is why haven't we wiped them out yet. Humans would see them as a particularly threatening megafauna, and if there's one thing we love to do it is wiping out megafauna.

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  • $\begingroup$ You mean "Attack on Titan"? $\endgroup$
    – user39178
    Mar 23, 2020 at 16:52
  • $\begingroup$ @user39178 Yeah but with only the lowest possible tier of titan, haha. $\endgroup$
    – Zwuwdz
    Mar 23, 2020 at 19:41
  • $\begingroup$ @Zwuwdz so Attack on Titan but the roles are reversed? $\endgroup$
    – icewar1908
    Mar 23, 2020 at 19:55
  • $\begingroup$ By "our primary hunting gimmick" do you mean persistence hunting? $\endgroup$
    – The Daleks stand with Ukraine
    Mar 28, 2020 at 1:28
  • $\begingroup$ Yes, I added your link to make it more obvious. $\endgroup$
    – Zwuwdz
    Mar 28, 2020 at 18:46

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