Animals who eat other animals are considered predators and those who are eaten are the prey. Hunting styles vary widely, alligators pull their victims under water and drown them before using their sharp teeth to eat their prey. Pythons and boa constrictors suffocate their prey. Rattlesnakes bite their prey, injecting toxic poisons. They then let their prey escape and later go to find their prey after the poison has killed the nervous system of the unfortunate animal.
Prey have a variety of ways of protecting themselves.
Rabbits, deer, and pronghorns run quickly away from their predator. Mice can camouflage among dry leaves and dirt, and turtles duck into their shells to hide from a fox's sharp canine teeth. Illinois State Goal Standard Learning Benchmarks 12 B 2a. Describe relationships among various organisms in their environments. Identify physical features of plants and animals that help them live in different environments.