Why did the viperwolves attack Jake, and why was Neytiri going to kill him?

[Woodsprite]

Were they hungry?

The way I think of them, I think of wolves like ours. Wolves on earth don't attack people unless they feel threatened, or are extremely hungry/starving. So I'm thinking, they weren't threatened... so the only logical reason why they must have attacked Jake was because they were starving.

Then Neytiri comes along and saves him... but why? "Because he has a strong heart"? "Because a woodsprite landed on my arrow"? She was going to kill him. What if he had been any other avatar? What if he was one of the avatars that would later participate in the rebellion on Hell's Gate? What if he was just another avatar that had no significance, but was still innocent?

It strikes me, Neytiri seemed to have a prejudice. She was willing to kill someone she didn't know, just because he was an avatar. It's like going by the logic, "A black man killed my sister. Therefore, all black men are bad."



So... is there any explanation on why the viperwolves wanted to kill Jake, other than "maybe they were hungry"? And though I already sort of answered my own second question, are there any thoughts on the ethical nature of Neytiri's mindset when it came to killing another sentient being?