[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index][Subject Index][Author Index]
Cooperative hunting in birds
.and crocodiles.
There was a remarkable film broadcast on UK television towards the end of last
year showing nile crocodiles hunting as a group. This is a famous population
of crocs which gorge themselves once a year on migrating wildebeest in the
Serengeti. While they were waiting for the main course, the crocs formed a
living dam in the river, composed of dozens of individuals, and created an
artificial pond. In this way, they herded hundreds of trapped catfish into
a small area where the fish were helpless to escape the eventual feeding
attack.
To my knowledge, this is the first absolute proof of large, ectothermic
archosaurs hunting in 'packs'. Has anybody else seen this film?