By which I mean by dropping prey and eating what’s left? I was reading about bearded vultures who do it, and the article mentioned golden eagles likewise know the trick. I’d guess corvids have figured it out. Anyone else? I originally only wanted to know about birds, but why limit the question?
I first encountered this with Seagulls as a young child. The beach near my grandma’s house had a parking lot littered with broken mussle shells, and you could watch the Seagulls swoop up and drop them.
Bird species and the prey they drop: https://academic.oup.com/view-large/2042934
Main article here: https://academic.oup.com/beheco/article/10/3/220/201460
(do nuts really count as prey?)
One could argue that birds that lay eggs in other bird species’ nests, where the resulting chick is much larger than the others and can push them out of the nest, could qualify. The dead chicks may not be killed as food, but are dead nonetheless.
Humans used to herd large animals such as buffaloes off cliffs to their death.
Not sure if this counts, but it’s my understanding that the bird is trying to break open, what it thinks is, an egg.
Peregrine Falcons kill prey birds by diving on them (at speeds that can approach 400 kph) and delivering a fatal blow from a “closed fist”.
Are there any non-flying animals that do this. Perhaps tusked mammals that toss their prey up in the air repeatedly?
In that sense some predators leap onto their prey but I don’t know if any actually kill like that. Elephants will try to crush their enemies to death with their immense weight. Elephants also may grab threats with their trunk and toss them in the air, as do other animals through other means, but not specifically to kill them although that must happen sometimes.
IIRC, dolphins my throw turtles/shells in the air which will break in very shallow waters.
I’ve seen that clip before, but you offer an excellent explanation.
Pretty darn shallow, I should think.
My brother is a keen amateur golfer out in regional NSW and on seeing that video remarked that he was glad that emus hadn’t yet developed that skill.
How about dropping projectiles onto their prey? Do any animals do that?
Some antlion larvae dig conic pits that passing prey fall into and find escape difficult. From Wikipedia:
The steep-sloped trap that guides prey into the larva’s mouth while avoiding crater avalanches is one of the simplest and most efficient traps in the animal kingdom.
Also, pitcher plants, a leafy green type of animal :), rely on insects falling into their pitfalls.
Eagles kill playwrights by dropping tortoises on them. Data collected over a long time span shows its got a 100% fatality rate!
Oh come on. That only happens on Discworld.
Do eggs count? Egyptian vultures use rocks to crack eggs, both as a beak-held tool and tossed. I suppose they’re supplying a good part of the momentum too.
Per Aristophane’s totally historical account “Clouds”, lizards try to take out famous Greek philosophers too.
I think this is mostly limited to Wile E. Coyote?
The silence of the serene desert plain is suddenly broken by the crashing of rope and anvil and the boom of the TNT…
Last fall I heard a noise when looking out on my back deck, and saw a squirrel lying on the grass, just as a red hawk descended to finish the deal. The thud I heard was the squirrel hitting the ground after the hawk knocked it out of a tall tree. It was the damnedest thing I’ve ever seen, and fascinating to watch nature in action as the hawk ate its meal.