Animal Strategies: The Will to Survive

Strategy refers to the implementation of coordinated actions with a specific purpose. In the animal kingdom, the objective is basically twofold: individual survival, and ensuring the survival of the species. Of course, it differs whether we're looking at mammals, reptiles, herbivores or beasts of prey. From cheetah to jackal to vulture, witness their deadly hunting techniques and survival skills.

More than 9,000 types of birds have been identified on earth. They are often very different in size, shape, and color, but all have developed the same evolutionary strategy: 160 million years ago, the front limbs of these reptile descendants transformed into wings, and the avian creatures took to the skies.

Gazelles, buffalo, and all antelopes belong to the family bovidae. This large classification includes more than 70 species, most living in Africa. There is great diversity within these vegetarian ruminants, starting with their environments and their needs. Morphologically speaking, the differences can be extreme. Dwarf antelopes no bigger than a hare, while the elan weighs more than a ton.

The history of primates began 65 million years ago, when the ancestors of the apes were the contemporaries of the last dinosaurs. Today, on the island of Madagascar, we can find one of the first links in the evolutionary strategy that led to Man. Primates have remained at an elementary stage of development, which gives us an idea of what the primitive species may have been.

Over 10,000 years ago, many animals were considered "mega-fauna". This group consisted of herbivores that had taken a different path than horses or gazelles. Instead of evolving to a lighter, faster animal to escape predators, they decided to grow and to develop thick skins and huge, massive frames. Today, there are a still few animals that, in a way, are relics of this trend.

Size is a very relative notion in nature. You can be the baby in a family of giants or the giant in a family whose largest members measure only a few inches. You can be a little herbivore or a little predator, but all species have one thing in common: helping their young grow to adulthood and independence at the pace corresponding to the species. Sometimes, days behind can mean death.