Researchers outline a new way to define and classify how groups of animals hunt together

Animals as different as lions, piranha, killer whales and ants have something in common: they have all evolved the ability to hunt in groups. Group hunting is one of the most fascinating behaviours in the animal kingdom, with an enormous diversity of different behaviours that animals use to capture prey. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology in Radolfzell have realized that strategies vary between species in a number of ways; from social stability of the group, the roles members play, or how they share food amongst the group. By disentangling these elements, the researchers have outlined a multidimensional framework. Using this method, they have identified commonalities between animals with similar hunting strategies, and uncovered some surprising parallels. Not only are orca, chimpanzees and lions similar to humans when hunting, but African wild dogs, some birds of prey, and certain species of ants also show the same combination of hunting strategies.