Cooperative hunting is a predatory strategy where multiple individuals work together to locate, pursue, and subdue prey. This coordinated teamwork increases the effectiveness of the hunt beyond what a single animal could achieve alone. This behavior is found across diverse environments and represents an adaptation to maximize food acquisition. The strategy relies on communication and the synchronization of effort, allowing social animals to target resources that would otherwise be inaccessible.
Defining Cooperative Hunting
Cooperative hunting is defined by coordination during the capture phase, not merely by a group feeding on the same carcass. The defining characteristic is that the combined actions of the group increase the individual success rate, which must be higher than if they hunted alone. This behavior requires individuals to react to the movements of their packmates rather than simply to the prey itself. The process often involves a division of labor, where different individuals take on specialized roles within the hunting formation. Following a successful capture, the prey is typically shared among the participating members, benefiting the entire social unit.
Prominent Mammalian Pack Hunters
Canids
Among the most well-studied cooperative hunters are the canids, such as wolves and African wild dogs, which rely on endurance and communication. Gray wolves, often hunting prey like elk and moose, utilize a strategy of relentless pursuit, chasing large animals until the target becomes exhausted and easier to subdue. African wild dogs use a similar tactic of prolonged, high-speed chases, with pack members taking turns leading the pursuit. They communicate using high-pitched vocalizations and body language, allowing for fluid coordination across long distances, and can successfully take down prey up to ten times their own size.
Lions
Lions, the only social felids, employ an ambush and encirclement strategy, which is particularly effective during nighttime hunts. A pride hunt is highly coordinated, with lionesses taking on distinct roles that involve little vocalization. Some lionesses act as “wings,” circling widely to drive the prey toward the “centers,” which lie in wait for the ambush. This tactical positioning allows them to collectively subdue large, powerful animals like Cape buffalo and giraffe, which a solitary lion could rarely manage.
Cooperative Hunting Beyond Mammals
Marine Mammals
Coordinated hunting is not exclusive to land mammals; some marine species demonstrate sophisticated cooperative strategies. Orcas, or killer whales, exhibit behavioral diversity and cultural transmission in their hunting techniques. Antarctic orcas coordinate to create large, synchronized waves that wash seals off floating ice floes and into the water. Other populations, such as those that hunt herring, work in pairs, with one whale acting as a “striker” to stun the fish with a tail-slap while the other blocks the escape route.
Interspecies Cooperation
An unusual example involves a cooperative relationship between the grouper fish and the moray eel in the Red Sea. The grouper, which hunts in open water, recruits a moray eel by performing a head-shaking “dance” near the eel’s crevice, signaling the location of hidden prey. The moray eel specializes in hunting within crevices and flushes the prey out into the open water where the grouper can capture it. This interspecies cooperation is mutually beneficial, allowing both predators to access prey that their individual hunting methods cannot secure.
Evolutionary Reasons for Group Hunting Success
The primary advantage of cooperative hunting lies in the increase in energetic efficiency for the individuals involved. By sharing the physical demands of the hunt, predators minimize the energy cost per successful kill, leading to a higher net gain of calories. The collective strength and coordination allow packs to target and subdue prey that is much larger, faster, or more dangerous than any single predator could handle.
Group hunting also plays a role in defending a hard-won meal from competitors and scavengers. The presence of multiple predators surrounding a kill acts as a deterrent against theft. Furthermore, securing a large carcass means the resulting meal is substantial enough to feed all members of the social group, including young or injured individuals, contributing to the overall survival and fitness of the entire pack or pride.