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It's the worst nightmare of anyone who suffers from ophidiophobia. According to a new study, snakes are not the solitary hunters and eaters we perceive them to be. In fact, some of the slithery reptiles coordinate their missions to increase their success rate.
For the study, Vladimir Dinets, a research assistant professor of psychology from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, observed the Cuban boa — the island nation's largest native terrestrial predator — hunting for food in bat caves.
Source: Time
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Krogt, n. (chemical symbol: Kr):
The metallic silver coating found on fast-food game cards.
-- Rich Hall, "Sniglets"
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday May 28 2017, @03:05AM (2 children)
Sure thing science guy. So when will the retraction be published. Next paper, bats hunt in packs. Followed by another retraction.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Sunday May 28 2017, @08:55AM (1 child)
Snake packs do seem far fetched. Maybe it happens, maybe it doesn't - if I had to bet, I'd say it doesn't. I've heard stories of them hunting in pairs, though. They're just stories, but mates apparently watch out for each other. That's kind of believable, but I've never heard any serious claims that any snakes mate for life. So, maybe.
Now bats? How do we define the "pack" hunt, exactly? Bats often hunt in groups. I can't say just how cooperative their hunt is, but I know that on any given night, the bats will congregate where the prey is. There is a lot of prey hovering around the street lights at the plant, so there are a lot of bats zipping in and out of the light. I have no idea if the bats are helping each other, or they try to "herd" insects in any way. But, at least bats are mammalian, and several mammals are known to hunt in packs. If you had some tiny nano-cameras, and you were able to mount them on a family of bats, you might find that they are genuine pack hunters after all.
It doesn't take any stretch of the imagination to speculate that they use their sonar sounds to communicate juicy meals to each other, or maybe even to "ping" that meal for a fellow hunter. No, I'm not saying that they actually do that - I'm just saying it's a possibility, which has probably never been researched.
Bats are known to be social creatures, after all. http://rstb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/371/1687/20150095 [royalsocietypublishing.org]
(Score: 3, Funny) by Reziac on Monday May 29 2017, @03:36AM
One of my hens was setting under my trailer... heard a ruckus, went out to investigate, there's a gopher snake in the nest, busy trying to suck down eggs while the hen raises hell. Pitched the snake into yonder field and thought no more about it.
Next night, another ruckus, and now there are TWO snakes in the nest, and almost no eggs left. *sigh*
And yes, one was the same snake from the night before, identifiable by being short part of its tail and scars on the stump. Guess it liked the omelet so well that it brought a friend.
And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.