How coyotes and badgers hunt together

Most of the folklore stories of various nations, from the ancient Greeks and Hindus to African tribes and North American Indians (and Russian folk tales), tell about the friendship and enmity of animal characters. For example, in many tales of the Indian tribes coyote and badger act. Sometimes they come together, sometimes they compete. Typically, a badger uses tactics of "soft power" and tricks against the insidious coyote. As scientists have found, such stories are not a figment of fantasy and are taken directly from nature: coyotes and badgers really help each other find and catch food.

Struggle and unity

The word coyote comes from the Aztec coyote, which means "deceiver." These members of the Canid family are smaller than wolves, weighing between 9 and 16 kilograms. They feed on carrion, small rodents and rabbits, but also do not refuse insects, frogs, snakes and fruits. Coyotes are most common in the Southwest and Midwest. Badgers live in the same places and use the same rodents as coyotes. Just do not hunt them on the ground, but attack in burrows, in which they help long claws and pointed heads.

A 1992 study in the California Department of Wildlife and Fisheries confirmed that Native Americans recognized centuries ago: coyotes and badgers actually hunt together. It’s easier to find a coyote looking for food with a badger than with other coyotes. As a rule, wild dogs live alone and rarely hunt in groups.

When coyotes and badgers combine, pairs track small animals, such as ground squirrels. If the prey runs on the ground, the coyote pursues her, but when she hides in a hole, a badger enters the game. According to researchers, in collaboration with badgers, coyotes catch one third more prey than alone.

Nothing personal just business

This does not mean that animals are friends - they, in fact, compete for the same food. Just in this way, a coyote and a badger save energy by sharing the load of catching quick and hidden prey. They also take advantage of each other's hunting skills.

Coyotes have stronger vision than badgers. And badgers can sniff prey underground. Let's say a badger digs the ground to find a squirrel, and a coyote waits upstairs. The terrified animal runs out - right into the coyote's paws.

But this does not mean that the coyote unscrupulously uses the stupid badger. If a coyote drives an animal into a hole, then its partner will be the first to get to the victim. And when the coyote is loitering nearby, the small animals are in no hurry to get out of their holes - it is there that the badger finds them.