10 Creatures That Will Change The Way You Think About The Food Web

Trout Eating Rats And Other Horrifying Examples Of Nature's Wonderful Food Chain.

1. Trout eating mice.

buzzfeed.com

Fishermen leave the worms behind, time to catch some mice. This trout ate 20 shrews and it turns out that trout eat rodents more than you might think.

2. River otters munching on gators.

NatGeo / Via news.nationalgeographic.com

The size of the prey is unusual, but otters eating alligators? Surprisingly common.

3. Tigerfish snapping birds!

Nature.com / Via nature.com

Lots of birds eat fish, but only the tigerfish is known to jump out of the water and catch birds on the wing.

4. Harpy eagle hunting monkeys

Via pbs.org

The harpy eagle is the most powerful raptor. They regularly feed on monkeys, sloths, and possums.

5. Bobcats taking down adult deer

Via defenders.org

The shy bobcat, only a little larger than a house cat, has the power to take down an adult deer.

6. Poisonous Pitcher plant

Popular Science / Via popsci.com

It’s not an animal, but the largest known variety of pitcher plant can “devour” an entire rat. Who says plants can’t be predators?

7. Roadrunner rummages for rattlers

buzzfeed.com

We all know that roadrunners have to run from coyotes, but also use their speed to catch a surprisingly dangerous delicacy, the rattlesnake.

8. Red deer snacking on birds

Via karlshuker.blogspot.com

Vegetarians might want to sit this one out. Deer, especially red deer, those seemingly harmless herbivores, have been known to snack on baby birds. There was a famous cow in India who had the same habit.

9. Hippos aren't herbivores either

Via scienceblogs.com

Hippos may look lazy, “yawning” in the river, but those yawns are warnings. Hippos sometimes snack on crocodiles and antelope.

10. We're in bat country

buzzfeed.com

Bats are sometimes touted as mosquito control, but some bats enjoy much more dangerous prey; the pallid bat satisfies its hunger with scorpions.