In Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem, why does this character get skinned?

Question

In Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (terrible, terrible movie):

One police officer discovers the Predator in the woods whilst continuing the search for a missing father and son. The Predator kills him, and he is later found hanging from a tree, skinned.

Aside from the apparent desire of the screenwriter to include a copy (sorry, homage. No, wait, it is just copying) of every memorable scene from both franchises, why did this happen?

The Predator didn’t hunt this character. It killed him while he was running away, presumably in an attempt to avoid attracting attention. Why skin him?

Answer 1

I think this really depends on how you consider the Predators society to be:

• To me, they're simply trophy hunters. Collect the most exotic and most dangerous game as trophies.

• A Predator might fight with his own "agenda" ("fair game for good game"), but doesn't necessarily have to.

• Just because the game doesn't fight or runs away doesn't mean it would be no valid game. Sure, probably not as special or sought after as something more dangerous that's fighting back, but at the same time...

• Predators and humans can work together, which won't invalidate the first two points in any way. It just depends on what the Predators consider the human: game or hunter. In a similar way, people used to hunt wolves, but they also tamed wolves as pets.

So, why picking/skinning the human as well? Think about those classic trophy hunter ideal:

Pick an animal missing in your collection and start the hunt. What happens if you see another game on your way possibly fitting in your collection as well? Right, you just pick it up, especially if you had to shoot it anyway. After all, humans are the dominant species on their home planet; that is significant, ignoring humans' "fragility" compared to other lifeforms such as the Xenomorph.

Answer 2

Notice when the skinning takes place: At the beginning of the hunt.

In Predator and Predator 2, both have occurrences of the Predator on the hunt making a point of making a hanging display to its intended prey as they enter the hunting territory.

This probably is inter-species communication, as a warning to the humans that they are entering the hunting area. The Predator probably does this to divide the choicest trophies from the ones which would be turned away by such a gruesome sign post.

How I draw this conclusion is by how the Predator on the hunt, even further evidenced in the movie Predators, chooses its intended prey, it doesn't take trophies from pregnant women and the unarmed, it wants hunters to hunt, seasoned killers.

Those who gaze upon the skinned warrior and do not turn back are more than likely a blooded, hardened warrior or not fit to breed more potential prey for the Predator to hunt by virtue of being a fool who ignores the signs that a hunt has begun in the area. Even then, those not armed or children that find them self in the hunting territory are given a chance to leave.