Cooperative hunting

Cooperative hunting is when meat-eating animals hunt together in groups that contain both division of labor and role specialization. It is a rare behavior that will evolve when two or more individuals successfully capture more prey and suffer fewer costs together than when they are alone. 80-95% of carnivores are solitary and hunt alone; however, certain species have been found to participate in cooperative hunting, including lions, wild dogs, spotted hyenas, chimpanzees, and humans. In addition to mammals, cooperative hunting behavior has also been documented in birds of prey and large marine vertebrates such as fish and moray eels. Cooperative hunting has been linked to the social organization of animal species and the evolution of sociality and thus provides a unique perspective to study group behavior.