Predators and Prey What are predators and prey

Predators and Prey • What are predators and prey? • How are predators good at catching prey? • How do prey avoid being eaten?

• Predators are animals that eat other animals. • We say that they are carnivores.

Prey are animals that are eaten by other animals. They can either be: o Herbivores (plant eaters) Or: o Carnivores (meat eaters)

Predators have adaptations that make them good hunters: • Some, such as eagles have good eyesight.

• Some predators have a good sense of smell. • Wild dogs can smell their prey from miles away.

• Many predators have sharp claws and teeth to help them tear other animals apart and eat them.

• Many Spiders set traps for their prey.

• Many predators are camouflaged so the prey cannot see them.

Prey animals have adaptations to avoid being eaten: • Rabbits have good eyesight, hearing and sense of smell. • This helps them detect nearby predators.

• Many prey species can run quickly to get away from predators.

• Lots of prey species are camouflaged so predators cannot see them.

• Some animals have a hard shell that predators cannot bite through.

• Many prey animals have weapons to defend themselves.

How predators and prey affect each others’ numbers 1. If there a lot of predators, prey numbers fall. 2. This in turn reduces predator numbers as some predators starve. 3. With fewer predators the prey numbers increase again. 4. This in turn causes an increase in the predators, so the cycle begins again.

Graph showing fluctuations in numbers of Lynx and Snowshoe Hare