Mission Surya – Day 26: Species Behaviour – Hunting Techniques
Important hunting strategies in animals including waggle dance communication, ambush predation, cooperative hunting and swarm raiding behaviour.
12 March 2026
Animals have evolved specialised hunting techniques that improve their chances of capturing prey and surviving in competitive ecosystems. These strategies often involve communication, cooperation and tactical behaviour.
Core Concepts
Honey bees communicate the location of nectar sources using the waggle dance discovered by Karl von Frisch.
The direction of the waggle run indicates the direction of food relative to the sun.
Golden eagles use drop hunting by lifting prey and dropping it from cliffs.
Komodo dragons use ambush predation and venomous bites to weaken prey.
Dolphins exhibit cooperative hunting by surrounding fish schools.
Other Cooperative Hunting Examples
• Orcas perform wave hunting to knock seals off ice floes.
• Army ants conduct swarm raids using massive coordinated colonies.
• African painted dogs hunt in packs with success rates up to 70–80%.
Quick Revision for Prelims
- • Honey bees communicate the location of nectar sources using the waggle dance discovered by Karl von Frisch.
- • The direction of the waggle run indicates the direction of food relative to the sun.
- • Golden eagles use drop hunting by lifting prey and dropping it from cliffs.