Post Description

7/10

Hunters and Hunted

Life is at it is most intense during the struggles between predator and prey, David Attenborough tells us. But - and this creates a massive conflict of emotions - it can also look beautiful. The kill is generally distressing for the observer though: the enjoyable gymnastic antics of stoats, for instance, are swiftly forgotten after seeing (and hearing) one of them snap the neck of its rabbit prey. And the ineffectual floundering of an ostrich floored by three cheetahs is hard to watch, too. Best just to admire the skill and intelligence of the predators, because some - the dolphins and the killer whales in particular - are amazingly clever. Even so, you'll be rooting for the sweet little ibex skittering over the rocks to escape a wily fox, and for the plucky Californian squirrel who scares off a rattlesnake by waving its tail.