Animal Planet :: Howloween :: Athletic Killers

Athletic Killers

Look out, Mark McGuire. Step aside, Mia Hamm. There are some amazingly athletic hunters in the underwater world ready to compete with you. Whether they are fish shooting at land-based bugs or whales teaming up to gather food, these marine and freshwater creatures perform Olympic-sized feats to snag a meal.

In a competition for The Stone Cold Steve Austin Award for Most Athletic Killer, these creatures would surely be in the line-up.

Archer Fish
Consider this black and silver fish the squirt gun of the aquatic world. To nab bugs resting on riverbanks and overhanging plants, the archer fish spits droplets of water to catch its prey. Adults have a 5-foot shooting range! The water knocks the bugs into the water, where they are gobbled by this sharpshooter. Archer fish live in the fresh and salt waters of Malaysia and northern Australia.
Don't be afraid. Get a closer look. >>

Football Fish
Don't invite this guy to your next tailgate party. Found worldwide in deep, cold oceans, the football fish earned its name from its fat, round body, which is studded with bony plates. One of 300 known angler fish, football fish eat by luring their prey with a built-in "fishing rod." The rod is actually a modified barb mounted on the fish's head that is tipped with a glowing "lure." Small, curious fish swim to the lure and soon find themselves football fish food.
Don't be afraid. Get a closer look. >>

Humpback Whale
Weighing in at a sumo-sized 35 to 40 tons, the adult humpback whale doesn't seem like a mammal that would need teammates to hunt for food. But humpbacks are toothless, so they need all the help they can get. Humpback whales hunt in a cooperative fishing effort called bubble-net feeding. The whales encircle schools of fish and blow a net of bubbles around them. Confused and frightened, the fish congregate in the center of the bubble net. The whales then lunge forward, mouths open, and gather their catch. Each day, one whale gulps about a ton of tiny fish and shrimp-like creatures called krill.
Don't be afraid. Get a closer look. >>

Pictures: Stephen Dalton/Animals Animals | Taxi/Getty Images | Image Bank/Getty Images |
Written by Amy E. Nevala

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