Predators in the Wild

The Peregrine Falcon is one of the fastest flying birds in existence today. It has been clocked at 90 mph (145 km/hr). Throughout history it has always been a popular bird to use in falconry.

The Red-tailed Hawk is the most common hawk in North America. It soars over the open country in search of its prey or perches in a tree at the edge of a field or meadow. With its sharp eyes peeled, it watches for the slightest movement signaling the...

You've seen this bird before, whether you've realized it or not! If you live in North America, there's not much of a chance that you haven't seen one of these birds hovering over the highways and backroads at some point. The Red Tailed Hawk is the mo...

The Swainson's Hawk can eat an average of 100 grasshoppers a day giving it the nickname 'Grasshopper Hawk'. It is a beautiful bird to watch as it soars across the sky.

Size isn't everything! The American Kestrel may be the smallest falcon in North America, but what it lacks in size it makes up for in color and beauty! This falcon has a huge range, spanning all the way down to the coast of Chile near Antartica to th...

My experience with the Western Pacific monitor lizard, Varanus indicus--also known as the mangrove monitor--has been over 12 years of living on the Western Pacific island of Guam, with side visits to Saipan, Tinian, Rota, Belau (Palau) (The big lizar...

Let's face it, many if not most people have some anxiety about snakes and with good cause. Snakes are wild reptiles that will bite and defend themselves if threatened. For the welfare of both humans and snakes, it is best to leave them alone and to a...

Growing up in Montana and New Mexico, I had plenty of chances for learning about some of the most dangerous aspects of hiking, camping, and otherwise enjoying the great outdoors in those areas. Most of the time (except when they are molting), the rat...

The brown bear (known as the grizzly in the Lower 48 states) is a large predator distinguished from black bears by a distinctive hump on the shoulders, a dished profile to the face, and long claws about the length of a human finger. Coloration is u...

Brown Bears, known as Grizzly bears in the Lower 48 states live 20 to 25 years in the wild. in Alaska the bear is known as the Alaskan Brown Bear or Kodiak bear. Here you find facts about their habitat, range, breeding, habits along with photos, vide...

Coyotes are highly adaptable and live in a variety of different niches. Their behavior can vary widely depending on where they live, but in general they live and hunt singly or in monogamous pairs in search of small mammals including rabbits, mice, s...

Lions are one of the 4 big cats that roar, also known as the Great Cats. Lions are mammals and are carnivores. They live about 15 years in the wild and up to 30 years in zoos. There are 2 types of lions, the African Lion and the Aisan Lion. They are...

Foxes The Fox. Read about Foxes. Red Fox, Artic Fox. Find information and products about foxes. Find more info on Foxes Here: Foxes "A fox is a member of any of 27 species of small omnivorous canids. The animal most commonly called a fox in the...

The Bald Eagle is the only eagle unique to North America. Over the last few years the population of Bald Eagles has made a comeback. It was removed from the Federal List of Endangered Species on June 28, 2007.

The California Condor was on the brink of extinction with its numbers dropping to less than 25. They are still endangered, but conservation efforts have paid off. Last count there were 302 California Condors in existence.

The eagle is known for many things - most notably it's beauty, power, vision and graceful flight. Eagles are a member of the Accipitridae family, which includes hawks, kites, and old-world vultures, which is why they are also considered ravenous birds...

The Golden Eagle is one of the best known birds of prey in the Northern Hemisphere. They prefer the open country rather than forests and can be spotted in desert grasslands, and above the timberline.

Sharks (superorder Selachimorpha) are fish with a full cartilaginous skeleton  and a streamlined body. They respire with the use of five to seven gill slits. Sharks have a covering of dermal denticles to protect their skin from damage and parasi...

Relatives of coral and sea anemones (and also of the Portuguese Man-O-War and the Australian Box Jelly), Sea Jellies or "Jellyfish" are marine invertebrates belonging to the class Scyphozoa of the phylum Cnidaria.  These free-swimming...

This lens has information about shark identification. Sharks are magificient predators that live in oceans, bays, and saltwater estuaries worldwide. Occasionally sharks even enter rivers and travel miles upcurrent.

Spiders are found all over the world in all sorts of habitats from the sea shore to the dessert - on the ground, under rocks, on plants, in trees, in caves, on water.   Spiders' legs are segmented and each leg has 7 segments: a coxa (attached...

There are over 30,000 types of spiders in the world, but the Black Widow is probably the best known and most feared. Arachnophobia, the fear of spiders, is one of the most common of all phobias. It doesn't matter if spiders are a part of the food cha...

Welcome to Scorpion Lens The Buthids or thick-tailed scorpions are highly deadly to man and sponsor all continents, except Antarctica. At that place are all over 500 species of Buthids. The to the highest degree dangerous are the Parabuthus and Buth...

Bugs play a major roll in the world's ecosystem. They're food for other critters higher on the food chain, pollinate plants, and they help decompose dead plants and animals. There are over a million known species of insects on earth, and that's not i...

The Barred Owl's signature call, "Who cooks for you? Who cooks for you" is easy to identify. Many people simply refer to them as "Hoot Owls." They are fairly common here in South Carolina, and on a quiet night I can usually hear one hooting in the w...

Snowy Owls...they're elusive, secretive, and a silent predator. Only a handful of animals can exist in the frigid, bleak Arctic region. The Snowy Owl has adapted to this open, perilous environment perfectly. Though the Snowy Owl is globally known, n...

The Great Horned Owl is a phenomenal hunter. When it recognizes the sound of prey, it will hop from tree to tree until it pinpoints the source. Then it silently swoops in with its talons wide and pounces on the unsuspecting prey.

The Eastern Screech Owl is an elusive nocturnal predator. It is usually identified by its distinctive call, which varies from a low whistle or whinny to a hoot, rather than by sight.

There are a huge variety of North American owl species that are around us all and can likely be found right in your own backyard. After all, there are over 200 owl species in the world! With diets ranging from insects and small rodents all the way up...