Page 33 - World of Animals - Deadly Predators

Wild dogs

© Thinkstock © Thinkstock

COYOTE
Canis latrans
Lifespan Up to 14 years
Adult weight 9-23kg
(20-50lbs)
Conservation status

Up to 90 per cent of a
coyote’s diet is comprised LEAST CONCERN
Foxes can use their tails to
change direction in mid-air of mammals

can survive without eating for a few days. They also
Wolves can go for over
have the most powerful bite of the canids and their seven days without any food
2.5-centimetre (one-inch) sharp, strong canine teeth
can crush preys’ bone in several bites.
Unlike most of the Canidae family, coyotes (Canis
latrans) will hunt alone and will pounce on small prey
but will hunt in a group to make a larger kill. They
are also known to eat domestic dogs and cats. These
efficient hunters use their hearing and smell to locate
their prey, chasing at speeds of up to 64 kilometres
(40 miles) per hour and biting their prey’s legs to bring
them to the ground and then striking the fatal blow to
their prey’s throat. As scavengers, they will eat carrion

“When there isn’t any prey,

these predators will even

eat fruits and berries”

but when there isn’t any prey, thse predators will even
eat fruits and berries.
Foxes are clever creatures that use the Earth’s
magnetic field to hunt for prey hidden beneath snow.
Using their large ears to detect the movement of
prey from as far as seven metres (25 feet), they will
line their body north to find out where their prey is
and how far and will jump high into the air and dive GREY WOLF
directly onto their prey. It’s thought that they are the Canis lupus
Lifespan 6-8 years
first animals that can judge both distance and direction Adult weight 18-79kg
using this method and they have a 73 per cent success (40-175lbs)
Conservation status
rate. While hunting they can reach speeds of up to 50
kilometres (31 miles) per hour, sealing their preys’ fate.
The dhole (Cuon alpinus) lives in eastern and
LEAST CONCERN
southern Asia. Dholes hunt in packs and use clucks © Getty
and high-pitched screams to communicate with each