Wildlife
Ambushing prey is a tactic employed by a whole host of animals, from trapdoor spiders lurking in their burrows, to a cat stalking a mouse. If ambushers chase their prey at all, they do so for only a short time, as most of them are not capable of a prolonged pursuit. Instead they use cover so they can surprise unsuspecting prey.
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Deadly dancing
There's nothing like a bit of hypnotic dancing to help catch prey 10 times your own size.
Is a stoat's frenzied dance really a clever attempt to help it bring down its much larger prey? Or has this one just been at the catnip? Sure enough, it seems that rabbits are rendered almost catatonic by the stoat's antics. Keeping the frantic dance up allows the stoat to to get closer and closer until it's within reach and can pounce on the enchanted rabbit.
Here fishy fishy
Wading birds use different techniques to land a catch.
Wading birds use different techniques to land a catch.
Fishing fish
Frogfish bait their own bodies to lure their prey into trap-jaws.
Frogfish bait their own bodies to lure their prey into trap-jaws.
No rules
Predators will try any tricks and tactics in the race for food.
Predators will try any tricks and tactics in the race for food.
Light lures
Bioluminescence creates pyrotechnic displays deep in the ocean's darkness.
Bioluminescence creates pyrotechnic displays deep in the ocean's darkness. Shots courtesy of WHOI
American crocodile
Gharial
Nile crocodile
Siamese crocodile
Spectacled caiman
Yacare caiman
Amethystine python
Boa constrictor
Broadley's flat lizard
Cape dwarf chameleon
Eyelash viper
Grass snake
Mangrove cat snake
Saw-scaled viper
Smooth snake
Spotted python
Vipers
Yellow anacondaAmbush predators or sit-and-wait predators are carnivorous animals that capture prey by stealth or cunning, not by speed or necessarily by strength. These organisms usually hide motionless and wait for prey to come within striking distance. They are often camouflaged, and may be solitary. This mode of predation may be most efficient when a predator cannot move faster than its preferred prey; otherwise, active hunting is more efficient.
It can, however, save energy for a predator that exploits predictable paths for prey, as with cats of all sizes and become an attractive strategy. Ambush predators include many fish, snakes, and other reptiles (e.g. crocodiles), as well as some mammals, birds, and spiders.
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Other Predation strategy behaviours
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Clouded leopard
Ethiopian wolf
Jaguar
Leopard
Puma
Snow leopard
Wildcat
Ambulocetus
Harpy eagle
Red kite
Sparrowhawk
Spotted flycatcher
Grey heron
Koolasuchus
Mountain chicken
Red-bellied piranha
Anglerfish
Frogfish
Giant cuttlefish
North Pacific giant octopus
Yellow dung fly
Crab spiders
Himalayan jumping spider
Huntsman spiders
Jumping spiders
Trapdoor spiders