Pack hunting... in snakes?

[ladywhipple02]

Thought this was super interesting!

http://www.aol.com/article/news/2017...acks/22111810/


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[Bogertophis]

I wouldn't be terribly surprised if it turned out that other species do something similar...Trans Pecos rat snakes are known to take some bats in the wild, & to do
that might also hang around the entrance of a cave en masse. Perhaps we just don't sneak around in the wild where they are enough to find out?

Natural selection would seem to favor those who succeed with this method, at least for this type of prey. I don't think it would work as well for catching rodents
though, and I'm not sure it actually represents true intentional cooperation, since there's no way the prey can be shared, only their odds of success increased.

[Dianne]

I’ll just add that Cuban boas are very observant and active snakes. The pair I had would watch you from the cage...very alert as to what is happening around them. This kind of behavior doesn’t surprise me because I can easily see them recognizing the increased success rate for catching prey. Mine were also voracious eaters. I really regret giving those guys up when I downsized.

[Bogertophis]

I’ll just add that Cuban boas are very observant and active snakes. The pair I had would watch you from the cage...very alert as to what is happening around them. This kind of behavior doesn’t surprise me because I can easily see them recognizing the increased success rate for catching prey. Mine were also voracious eaters. I really regret giving those guys up when I downsized.

Trans Pecos are like that too...not shy, they often stay up in their branches & watch me & whatever else. Big eyes, excellent night vision too.