Animal fighting strategies

Melusine33

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Google isn't working for me with this, so I'm hoping someone here can help.

I am trying to find an example of an animal that might pretend to be hurt/weak/dead when confronted with an aggressor or in the middle of a fight, so that the aggressor would come closer with its guard down and the first animal could surprise it with a sudden attack. I would think this would be most likely to happen between members of the same species. Does anyone know of a type of animal that will use this sort of behavior?

Thanks in advance!

(Note: I know there are many species that will play dead to get a predator to leave them alone, or play hurt to lead a predator away from young, but I'm specifically looking for one that would use it to get the upper hand in a fight/attack.)
 

veinglory

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I can't think of an animal that would do this. Generally animals fight to drive the opponent away from a resource, or as a display of strength. Killing the opponent is not the objective. A species that has grudge matches to the death won't tend to do well in the wider evolutionary context.
 

Melusine33

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Possibly this doesn't actually happen; I thought I'd remembered hearing about this sort of behavior but could be wrong. I'm not talking death matches or trying to kill, just if two animals were fighting over food/territory/mates one might do this to get the upper hand.

e.g., Cats will do this when they're play-fighting--one may roll over on its back to play vulnerable, and then lunge when its play-mate "attacks". I was hoping there might be a species that does something along that line in a serious fight.

(In the context of the story, it would be two animals; would not be something the animal would do with a person.)
 

Dandroid

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There are fish that do this...but i guess that doesn't help
 

veinglory

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Cats roll on their backs so they can use all their claws at once and minimise open target areas on their body.

I am an animal behaviorist and I can't think of an example of this.
 

Anne Lyle

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Same as veinglory - I did zoology at uni, specialising in animal behaviour, and I'm drawing a blank...

Most animals go to great lengths to minimise fighting, because it's not a great way to survive and breed. Hence the noisiness of cat fights, as they try to intimidate their opponent into leaving before the thing comes to blows.

Foxes allegedly roll around to bemuse their prey into coming close enough to be grabbed, but a) there's some doubt as to whether it's a deliberate ploy and b) it's not intra-species conflict.

http://www.bigsiteofamazingfacts.com/when-is-a-fox-charming
 
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janwyl

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The rinkhals is the only one I know of, and it's not to get the upper hand in a fight, but it often turns out that way in practice.

It's a snake like a cobra found in Southern Africa that is well known for playing dead (technical term thanatosis). It does it more to try and make its aggressor go away (snakes generally don't want to fight anything they can't eat), but if the aggressor comes closer it will "wake up" and bite - and it is venomous. Not the most lethal of bites, but humans risk dying if you don't get treated. So most animals will almost certainly die.

That's the only example I know of, and it may not be exactly what you're looking for, but it may be the best you're going to get given what the others say...
 
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