Cooperative hunting in birds

[tonyc@foe.co.uk (Tony Canning)]

Following my post last week on the film of co-operative hunting in crocodiles,
several people emailed me asking for info so I am posting this to the list.

The film, The Tides of Kirawira, was produced by Anglia Television and the
National Geographic Society, directed by Mark Peeble and Victoria Stone.  It 
may not have been transmitted outside the UK.

The Kirawira is a seasonal river system in the Serengeti. As the water level 
falls, up to 70 Nile crocodiles swim together, driving catfish into the 
shallows. They then cut off the retreat by forming a living dam lying 4 or
5 abreast, to pick off the fish at their leisure.  The script points out that
the large males are normally territoreal at that time of year, but all 
aggression is suppressed during this social hunting.

And the moral is...

Never underestimate an ectotherm.