SWARM!
Many animals prefer prowling for their victims in groups. A pack of hunters can sometimes do a better job of bringing down prey than a single animal, especially if their target is a large one. A pack is also likely to confuse the victim. Other animals hunt in swarms or gangs because they live in extended families and do most things together.
Killer Whales
The largest type of dolphin, killer whales earn their nickname, “wolves of the sea,” by ganging up in pods to hunt. They sneak up on schools of fish and marine mammals, communicating with one another with almost silent calls that are undetectable to their victims. Killer whales attack from all sides to make a kill, then they share the catch of the day.
Barracuda
Wolves of the sea, meet the “tigers of the ocean.” Barracuda are natural-born killers equipped witha mouthful of fanglike teeth and huge appetites. When these fierce fish hunt in a group, they herd their prey together and then ram into their victims with a sudden burst of speed, snapping off chunks of fish flesh.
Army Ants
These ants live in huge colonies of up to 700,000 individuals. When they hunt, a regiment of up to 200,000 ants overwhelm their victims, including other ants or large arthropods, in an attack called a swarm raid. They chop up the flesh of their dead prey with machete-sharp jaws. It’s no picnic.
Honeybees
When thousands of buzzing bees pour out of a hive to swirl in the air like an angry striped cloud, they aren’t coming after you... they’re just moving to a new house. Bees swarm when they run out of honey storage space. The queen bee and the gang may swarm on a tree branch while bee scouts look for a good place to build a new hive.
African Wild Dogs
Roaming the plains and woodlands of Africa in a family pack, these wild dogs have colorful markings, unique to each dog, that help them spot one another. They hunt together in a deadly gang. A group of up to 20 dogs cooperates to tackle and bring down their much larger prey. Their bites are much worse than their barks.
Harris’s Hawks
Although many birds of prey hunt alone, these birds work together to attack lizards, rabbits, large insects, and other birds. A few birds at a time may set off on patrol to look for prey until they eventually land dinner, which they share. In other cases, the hawks quietly surround their prey, and after one bird swoops in to startle it, the others attack.
Mormon Crickets
When a million or more of these crickets get together in a huge gang, they are capable of destroying entire fields of crops and vegetables. The densely packed swarm stretches as far as the eye can see and covers 1 mile (1.6 km) a day, devouring every plant in their path. No one knows why they swarm, but they really do bug people.
Piranhas
With wide mouths packed full of razor-sharp teeth that are capable of stripping flesh from bone, these fish are deadly enough individually. But when they get together, it’s murder. In a feeding frenzy, they can devour their prey in seconds, ripping off one chunk of flesh after another. By swarming together in a group, they also deter their own predators.
