Snakes Coordinate their Hunting - Science

A new UT study by Vladimir Dinets shows that some snakes coordinate their hunts to increase their chances of success. He studied the Cuban boa, pictured. 

Credit: Vladimir Dinets


Snakes, although as social as birds and mammals, have long been thought to be solitary hunters and eaters. 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.

- Phys.org: Study shows snakes, thought to be solitary eaters, coordinate hunts

Note:  this is the second paper the Rockhouse has reviewed today from UT Knoxville and interesting science in both.


The metaphor in this situation relative to politics begs to be hammered but probably best to leave it to that to the simple statement.


Many Cuban caves shelter large bat colonies, and in some of them small populations of boas regularly hunt the bats as they fly out at dusk and return at dawn. Dinets noticed that the boas hung down from the ceiling of the cave entrance and grabbed passing bats in midair. He found that if more than one boa was present, the snakes coordinated their positions in such a way that they formed a wall across the entrance. This made it difficult or impossible for the bats to pass without getting within striking distance of at least one boa.

Such group hunts were always successful, and the more snakes were present, the less time it took each to capture a bat. But if there was only one boa, it sometimes failed to secure a meal.
These findings were recently published open-access in the journal Animal Behavior and Cognition.

- PO

Maybe you think, what, me worry?  Why should I care when they only eat bats?


How about if the Cuban boas notify their snake brothers in the Everglades, the Burmese pythons, about this clever technique and those snakes are much too big to be satisfied with bats although you look like you're about sixty kilos and should at least be good for an appetizer.

They come silently at night ... and they work together.


Maybe they already know how to do it.

To date, only a handful of snakes have been observed to hunt in groups, and coordination among them—or among any other group-hunting reptiles—has never been proven, Dinets said.

Only a few of the world's 3,650 snake species have ever been observed hunting in the wild, so very little is known about snakes' diverse hunting tactics.

"It is possible that coordinated hunting is not uncommon among snakes, but it will take a lot of very patient field research to find out," Dinets said.

- PO

Well, that makes it exciting, doesn't it, ducks.  Those Burmese pythons may already have sent a slithering reptile battalion your way.


The interested student has two options at this point.  The first is to continue with the linked article for more detail.

Ed:  what's the second?

Work on your running game.