Buzz
Animals of different species can interact in a variety of ways. Some relationships are predatory, with hunters pursuing their prey, while others see humans domesticate animals or groups of creatures fight over territories. While many encounters between different species tend to be competitive or distant, there are also instances where cooperation leads to mutual benefits. Some of these partnerships are both surprising and awe-inspiring.
10. Ravens Help Wolves Find Food
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Even without the presence of wolves, many herbivores still succumb to starvation towards the end of winter. While this provides a feast for scavengers, much of the meat eventually goes to waste as it decomposes faster than it can be consumed. With wolves reintroduced, herbivore deaths are more evenly spread out, offering a continuous source of food for scavengers. Unlike other animals such as bears, wolves typically move away from their kill once they've eaten enough, ensuring the food remains accessible.
Ravens have adapted to take full advantage of the leftovers from wolves. In the winter, ravens will land and call out near a carcass to attract the wolves' attention, guiding them to their next meal. This strategy puts the ravens in an excellent position to enjoy the remnants of the kill. Interestingly, wolves have been observed to show unusual tolerance towards ravens feeding close to them.
9. Carrion Beetles and Their Mite Helpers
In the wild, an animal carcass is rarely left unused. American carrion beetles, as their name implies, lead a life centered around the consumption of dead animals. Their bodies are specially designed to crawl under or even inside these corpses. The scent of a freshly dead animal attracts the beetles, often accompanied by mites riding on their backs.
The beetles lay their eggs in the decaying flesh, which will provide nourishment for their larvae. They're not the only species to use a carcass in this way, and as a result, their larvae must compete with those of other insects. Unlike other creatures like various flies, carrion beetles only deposit their eggs in dead animals because their larvae need meat to survive. The adult beetles will consume the larvae of rival species, but due to the sheer number of competitive insects, they can't eliminate all of their competitors' offspring.
This is where the mites that travel with the carrion beetles step in. When they arrive at a fresh corpse, the mites quickly disembark and swarm the body, consuming any eggs or larvae that aren’t from the carrion beetles, significantly reducing the competition. The beetles then transport the mites to the next carcass they discover. It's also likely that the mites help clean bacteria off the beetles' bodies while enjoying their free ride.
8. Daniel Greene and His Seizure-Detecting Snake
You may be familiar with seizure-alert dogs that can sense oncoming seizures in their owners and alert them in time. But have you heard of a seizure-detecting snake? Daniel Greene from Shelton, Washington certainly has. He relies on Bedrock, his 1.5-meter (5 ft) boa constrictor, as a service animal. Greene, who suffers from grand mal seizures, often wears Bedrock around his neck. He discovered that when a seizure was about to occur, Bedrock would stiffen and lightly squeeze his neck.
Since then, Bedrock has been crucial in providing Greene with enough time to relax, take medication, or do whatever is necessary to either prevent a seizure or manage it as safely as possible. The difference is unmistakable; when Bedrock is sleeping at night, Greene's seizures occur without warning.
Unfortunately, Greene’s approach to preventing seizures has not been without its challenges. Some store managers are hesitant to let him in with a snake draped around his neck. As a service animal, Bedrock is legally allowed to accompany Greene in public under the Americans with Disabilities Act. However, Greene is occasionally asked to leave. He says he has no problem leaving if asked politely, but he gets offended when managers insist that Bedrock isn’t a legitimate service animal.
7. Badgers and Coyotes Join Forces
Badgers and coyotes both share a strong interest in hunting burrowing rodents, though they use very different methods. While rodents like squirrels and prairie dogs stand no chance against a coyote's speed, they can often escape by diving into their burrows. Badgers, however, are equipped to dig into the earth and pull a rodent out of its burrow—provided the rodent doesn’t escape through another exit, leaving the badger with no chance of catching it. A collaboration between a badger and coyote could shift the odds in favor of these two predators, should they manage to work together.
As it turns out, they do. Native American tribes have long spoken of these partnerships, and more recently, scientists have documented them as well. When badgers and coyotes team up to catch prey, they complement each other's strengths. The badger digs out the prey from its burrow, while the coyote runs it down. These collaborations typically occur between a single badger and one lone coyote, rather than in groups of coyotes.
6. Frogs Guard Spider Eggs for Shelter
The powerful Colombian lesserblack tarantula could easily prey on an animal as small as the dotted humming frog, but it doesn't. While it's possible that the frogs are simply unappealing to the spiders, there's more to the story. The spider and frog have been observed sharing burrows made by the spider. Some Colombian lesserblacks have even been seen cohabitating with multiple humming frogs.
Frequently, the frogs must crawl over or under the tarantula to enter or exit the burrow, yet they are never attacked. The spiders may pick them up and examine them, but ultimately release them. It’s believed that the spiders recognize the frogs through chemical cues.
The two species engage in a mutually advantageous relationship. Many predators that would typically target the dotted humming frog are deterred from entering the burrow of a large hunting spider. The frogs also benefit from feeding on small invertebrates attracted to the remnants of the spider’s kills. Furthermore, the spider’s burrow serves as an ideal microhabitat for the frogs. So, how do these amphibious roommates contribute to the arrangement? The humming frogs consume ants, including those that might otherwise feast on the Colombian lesserblack’s eggs.
5. Seeing Eye Gobies
Pistol shrimp are renowned for their ability to snap their claws so quickly that they create a powerful jet of water, capable of deterring predators or stunning prey. Despite their powerful claws, the ocean outside a pistol shrimp’s burrow is vast and filled with potential dangers, and the shrimp's vision is not particularly sharp.
This is where certain species of goby come into play. Gobies, with their superior vision, serve as the pistol shrimp’s eyes. Much like a human with a seeing-eye dog, the goby’s tail fins stay in constant contact with the shrimp’s antennae as they go about their daily activities. If a predator is spotted, the goby’s tail signals the shrimp to retreat, and the goby will also retreat if the danger gets close. At night, the goby rests with the shrimp inside the protection of the burrow. Pistol shrimp in these partnerships will not venture out without their goby companions.
4. CIA-Trained Spy Ravens
B.F. Skinner’s operant conditioning (commonly exemplified by rewarding a dog with food for performing a trick) has proven to be an invaluable principle. This concept has inspired numerous applications, including a seemingly benign tourist attraction in Hot Springs, Arkansas, which emerged in the 1960s. Known as the I.Q. Zoo, this theme park featured animals performing human-like activities such as chickens playing baseball, pigs playing the piano, and raccoons engaging in basketball games.
The I.Q. Zoo, in addition to its entertaining displays, also served as a government-sponsored research facility for exploring other uses of animal training, including espionage. Ravens, in particular, demonstrated exceptional suitability for this type of work. Their remarkable ability to carry heavy loads, coupled with their intelligence, allowed them to be trained to perform highly specific tasks, such as opening file drawers and carrying documents.
It was relatively easy to train ravens to fly to designated locations indicated by a laser pointer and drop off items, including surveillance devices. Ravens were even trained to use a special camera held in their beaks to take photographs. They were directed to a window via a laser pointer, where they were taught to press the camera against the glass. Each press of the camera would capture an image.
3. Old Tom The Whaling Killer Whale
Twofold Bay, located near Eden in Australia, is the third deepest natural harbor in the southern hemisphere and serves as a known gathering point for whales, making it an ideal location for whaling. In the 1860s, the Davidson family operated a long-established whaling station along its shores.
Each year, as winter approached, a pod of orcas arrived. Initially, the Davidsons were concerned that the orcas might interfere with their whaling efforts, but something unexpected occurred. Led by a male who would come to be known as Old Tom, the pod would drive baleen whales into Twofold Bay and trap them there. Old Tom would then swim to the whaling station, leaping and slapping the water with his tail to alert the whalers.
The whalers would then head out in their boats to catch the trapped whales. Some accounts suggest that the orcas even helped protect the men by driving away sharks. After a whale was caught and killed, its carcass would be left tethered in the water overnight. Old Tom and his pod would feast on the lips and tongues of the whales, leaving the more valuable parts for the Davidsons. This mutually beneficial arrangement became known as the Law of the Tongue.
The Davidsons and Old Tom's pod maintained their collaborative relationship for three generations. Old Tom passed away in 1930, and his skeleton is now displayed at the Eden Killer Whale Museum. Shortly after his death, his pod vanished and was never seen again. No orcas have worked with whalers in this unique way since.
2. Meat Ants Give Caterpillars The Royal Treatment
Meat ants, or gravel ants, are a highly territorial species native to Australia. They vigilantly patrol the borders of their territories, which are typically well-defined and rarely overlap with those of other colonies. When this happens, the ants engage in a ritualized confrontation, standing on their front legs and using their hind legs to kick each other. This abdomen-kicking battle can last for days, though fatalities are rare.
Other creatures aren't as fortunate. Invertebrates that encroach upon the meat ants' territory are quickly overwhelmed, killed, and sometimes consumed by the omnivorous ants. Despite their lack of stingers, large groups of ants can drive off even bigger animals by releasing foul-smelling chemicals and biting repeatedly. The area around their colonies, which can cover up to 650 meters (2,100 ft), may become barren of species unable to coexist with them.
Certain caterpillar species not only manage to coexist with meat ants, but they are actually welcomed by them. These caterpillars secrete a sugary fluid that the ants consume. In return, the meat ants will protect these caterpillars from predators. Some of these caterpillars are even kept within the ants' colonies and transported to plants for feeding. Interestingly, human farmers can also benefit from meat ant colonies, as dead livestock dropped onto a meat ant nest will be reduced to bones, offering a convenient method of disposal.
1. Moray Eel Tunnel Rats
It might not be shocking to imagine coyotes, known for their pack-hunting behavior, teaming up with badgers to catch prey, but what about two fish species that are far less sociable? Groupers and moray eels are quite different. Groupers are daylight hunters, chasing prey in the open waters. If a prey fish escapes by hiding in a crevice or hole, the grouper can easily lose track of it. Meanwhile, moray eels are nocturnal and specialize in sneaking through narrow coral reef spaces to catch their food.
In the Red Sea, some groupers have figured out how to ask moray eels for help. If a grouper’s target seeks refuge in a place it cannot reach, the grouper swims to a moray’s den and shakes its head rapidly at the entrance. This motion lures the moray out, even during the daytime. The grouper then leads the moray to the hiding prey, sometimes using additional head shakes to point out the location.
Once the moray enters the crevice, it kills the prey. Occasionally, the moray will eat it, but in other instances, it hands it over to the grouper. This form of cooperative hunting is unprecedented among two different fish species. Marine biologists have observed enough variation in how groupers lead morays to conclude that this behavior is learned, not instinctual.
