Channel: What Lurks Below

Category: Education

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Description: Sealife hunts in different ways, learn more about the hunting techniques sea creatures use to catch their prey. From ambush hunting to shadow & competitive hunting different aquatic species hunt in different ways. SUBSCRIBE for the latest videos: goo.gl/7xzjzR #5. COMPETITIVE HUNTING The majority of marine life do not intentionally share food with other creatures, and the only ones that do are bird parents that bring food to their offspring and nursing marine mammal mothers. In various species, parents protect their young ones before or after their birth however, as adults, they do not share their food intentionally. Like most carnivorous animals sea creatures such as sharks are quite selfish when it comes to hunting, and like many spoilt toddlers, they don’t believe in the concept of sharing. Even if the creatures are of the same species, size, age, sex, and even if their stomachs are full, they will NOT share. This concept is basically known as competitive hunting. This hunting technique is all about me, myself, and I, and sometimes creatures get so vicious that the adults in the species prey on the younger ones. Oftentimes, parent fish will also eat their own eggs just to satiate themselves. Sounds pretty cruel, right? #4. COOPERATIVE HUNTING After that, we have cooperative hunting which is probably the opposite of competitive hunting and also the most efficient way of hunting. So for this technique, you’ll see several different species of carnivores band together so that they can hunt for food. Each group in the hunting party has a different role and many of them share tasks so that hunting can be done effectively. While this is extremely rare, it does happen and brings many benefits to all the parties involved in the hunt. The sea creatures often end up capturing more prey with lesser effort. Not just that, this method also reduces chances of injury and different species can benefit from each other’s strengths. Some trevally jacks also hunt cooperatively with Whitetip sharks. The sharks often hunt at night while resting during the day. During daylight, however, the jacks hunt baitfish including the Creole fish in mid-water. As they are pursued the school of prey starts panicking and seeks cover in the reef where the resting sharks, sense the approaching prey, spring into action, and strike them out. Their slender mouth has the ability to fit into tight quarters. They use this advantage to pursue the fish into cracks and crevices of the reef, capturing some, while the fleeing ones return to the water column where they are gobbled by the awaiting jacks. A similar situation happens with the white mouth moray eels and the peacock groupers. These poor baitfish are caught in a dangerous situation, with one predator on either side of their escape route. They stay in this situation until the jacks the sharks move onto a different prey. #3. SHADOW HUNTING A hunting relationship between two parties of different species can be classified as shadow hunting. One member in this relationship is carnivorous while the other can be carnivorous, herbivorous, planktivorous, or omnivorous. Usually, the other party is an active planktivore or a herbivore. For this to work, the second member masks the active hunter to create the effect of “hunting blind”. The way this works is that the prey does not see the actively hunting species as its presence is blocked. Usually, the nonhunting member is so big that the hunting carnivore is not visible. Hence, it is much easier for the hunter to capture the prey using a surprise, swift attack. #2. OPPORTUNISTIC HUNTING Opportunistic hunting occurs when an animal exposes its prey, giving another animal the chance to gain access to it. An example of this technique is when bar jacks opportunistically hunt next to southern stingrays. Stingrays have a varied diet including different types of worms, shrimps, echinoderms, bivalve mollusks, crabs, and other small fish and they can be seen foraging the sand looking for prey. Barracks also have a similar diet which makes both parties perfect for each other’s opportunistic hunting. During the foraging of the sand, the stingray often flushes up different creatures. These animals are panicking and feel disoriented, which is why they are the perfect prey for the opportunistic bar jack. The jacks are quick learners and they often position themselves to the side or directly above a hunting stingray. In this relationship there is no benefit for the stingray, however, the jacks do compete with each other in capturing the prey flushed out by the stingray. #1AMBUSH HUNTING Last but not least we have the technique known as ambush hunting. For this technique, sea creatures hide in dark nooks or crevices and wait patiently for their prey. To any approaching prey, the hunter is not visible and as soon as they swim close enough, the hunter strikes out and grabs them.