
An incredible new finding about snakes could totally change how we think of these fascinating creatures.
Scientists have just stumbled upon an amazing new discovery about scientists that upends traditional thinking about these animals. Although snakes are known to be solitary animals, scientists have found evidence that they will hunt in packs like wolves, an activity that researchers are calling “coordinated hunting.”
Scientists from the University of Tennessee studied the Cuban boa, publishing a paper in the journal Animal Behavior and Cognition. Coordinated hunting is not the same as hunting in groups, which is common in the animal kingdom, but rather refers to when animals communicate time and space to each other when they chase prey, a form of strategic hunting.
Cuban boas watch each others position in caves when they hunt bats, choosing areas that will maximize their efficiency in getting a kill. They were more likely to position themselves in a way so they could be seen by other snakes, and then fencing in the bats to prevent their escape, scientists found.
“Snakes, although as social as birds and mammals, have long been thought to be solitary hunters and eaters,” the statement from the university reads. “A new study from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, shows that some snakes coordinate their hunts to increase their chances of success. Vladimir Dinets, a research assistant professor of psychology at UT, observed the Cuban boa — the island nation’s largest native terrestrial predator — in bat caves for the study.”
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