Page 1 Page 2 (What makes a good predator)
Did you know ?: The Spotted Hyena has the strongest jaws of any carnivore - capable of biting through bones.
Can you identify these animals ? Move your mouse over a picture to find out if you guessed right.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Did you know ?: The Caracal can jump over 2 metres high to catch its prey.
The photograph below shows a cheetah lying next to a leopard, which allows some of the differences between these two animals to be seen easily. The animals in the picture are not dead - they were tranquilised to allow their health to be checked and measurements taken.
Instructions
Click Start to begin, then click on a card to turn it over and reveal the picture on the other side. You can uncover two cards at a time then you have to try and remember where each card is. If you think you can remember where two identical cards are, click on them both in the same turn and see - if you get a match they disappear - find all the matches in as few goes as possible.
 |
 |
Did you know ?:
The Cheetah has a top speed of around 110km/hour (that's around 70 miles/hour) !
The Cheetah can reach a speed of 80 km/hour (50 miles/hour) in just 3 seconds.
The word search has moved to the second page of the Kids section
 |
 |
Did you know ?:
When running at full speed, a Cheetah can cover 7 metres in a single stride.
Some more examples of herbivores are Elephants, Giraffe, Kudu, Warthog, Impala, Rhino, Hippo and Zebra
Some more examples of carnivores are Leopard, Cheetah, Hyena, African wild dogs, Tigers, Caracals and Servals.
More examples of Omnivores include the Chimpanzee, Civet, Raccoons and Humans.
Predators are all carnivores, and the prey species they hunt are normally herbivores. So for instance an antelope such as a springbok or kudu is a prey species whereas a lion is definitely a predator.
Is the elephant predator or prey ? This is a question we have been asked several times, and to work out the answer, you need to look at the elephants diet. The elephant is a herbivore eating grass, leaves from trees, or fruit (or a farmers crops). This means it cant be a predator as it isn't a carnivore, so it must be a prey species. Having said that, the elephant isn't often preyed on by carnivores such as lions for the simple reason that the elephant is a very large, strong animal and is able to cause serious injury or death to a lion. An old or sick elephant not able to defend itself properly may become a victim to a predator (or more likely a group of predators), but the predators may simply wait for it to die and then prey on the carcass. An elephant that dies of natural causes such as old age or disease can become a good meal for a large number of animals, with Jackals, Spotted Hyenas and Vultures being the best known scavengers who would feed on the carcass.
Test your knowledge of carnivores with this short quiz.
This common phrase describes the life of the prey species in the wild. If a lion or other predator is hunting, it is careful to choose the prey that will be easiest to catch as this gives it the best chance of success. A predator that comes across a herd of for instance Wildebeest, will not just run straight in to the herd and hope to catch something, but will instead spend some time watching the herd. The predator is looking for a member of the herd that stands out as being easy to catch. This will often be an old or very young animal as this cant run as fast as the healthy adults. Alternatively an ill or injured animal is another good choice for the same reason - its not going to be able to run as fast and the predator has a better chance of catching it. Another choice for the predator is an animal who isn't concentrating on its surroundings and has drifted away slightly from the herd, or is busy eating without regularly looking round for signs of danger. Once the predator chooses a target then it will focus on this animal and begin the hunt.
If the predator doesn't see an obvious choice of prey, it may choose to get as close as possible to the herd then charge in and take whatever chances arise - either it will get close enough to catch one animal, or it may find that as the herd runs away, one or more of the herd members lag behind as they aren't as fit and healthy as the other animals - it is these unfit or unhealthy animals that will soon become a meal for a predator.
This process of the predators killing the weakest members of the herd means that the strongest or fittest animals survive to breed. It also means that prey species that aren't well adapted to evading predators soon die out
© Predator Conservation Trust.
